Blue Swimming & Diving Claims Third at NEWMAC Championships

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Wellesley College swimming and diving team wrapped up a fantastic weekend of competition with a third place finish at the 2013 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). The final seven events were contested on Sunday, polishing off the three-day meet, held at MIT's Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center.  

The Blue finished with 457 total points, behind only MIT (1021), who won the event for the third straight year, and Springfield (740), who has finished second in each of the last three years. Wellesley's 457 points were the most for the team since the 2008 Championship.

After MIT, Springfield, and Wellesley, Coast Guard (358) finished fourth, Mount Holyoke (286) placed fifth and Wheaton (263) ranked sixth. Rounding out the team finishes were Clark (213), WPI (212), Smith (180), and Babson (145).

Seven events were contested on day three, including the 1,650-free, the 200-back, the 100-free, the 200-breast, the 200-fly, the 400-free relay and 1-meter diving.

Wellesley earned over 20 points in three different events today, while breaking a school record and achieving an NCAA standard.

In the 200-back, Two Wellesley swimmers qualified to the evening session, with junior Gabriela Kovacikova leading the way with a fourth place finish (2:08.79). Close behind her, was junior Emma Mrkonic, who finished ninth in the event, posting a time of 2:10.50.

Another Wellesley school record was broken in the 200-breast, where two more Blue swimmers earned points. First-year Charlotte Harris finished fifth overall, in a time of 2:27.83. She also broke Lauren Gaffney's 2005 record (2:27.49), by swimming a 2:27.14 in the prelims. Also swimming at night in the event, first-year Emily Sotomayor ranked 10th overall with a 2:30.10.

The Blue also fared well in the 200-fly where four swimmers earned points. First-year Theresa Mitchell led the Wellesley field, qualifying to the finals and finishing seventh in 2:15.24. Also making it to the evening swim, sophomore Grace Bachman finished 11th in 2:16.37, Kovacikova ranked 15th with a 2:18.98, and first-year Suman Kumar placed 16th with a 2:28.92.

Wellesley had two swimmers score in both the 1,650-free and the 100-free to round out individual action. In the 1,650, first-year Ieva Galinyte finished 12th in 18:28.45, while classmate Ceallach Gibbons ranked 16th in 18:55.57. In the 100, sophomore Monica Gates finished 13th in 54.34 and junior Mariam Amirkhanashvili placed 15th in 54.49.

Wrapping up the day three swimming action, Wellesley's 400-free "A" relay ranked fourth overall with a time of 3:36.03, while the "B" relay earned 12th place points with a 3:38.04, which ended up as the seventh fastest time in the event. The "A" relay team was comprised of Gates, Galinyte, Sotomayor and Amirkhanashvili, while the "B" relay team included first-year Dorothy Ren, junior Anne Hamilton, Mrkonic and Harris.

In 1-meter diving, three Wellesley athletes competed against a stacked field that saw the top-10 divers reach NCAA standards. Junior Hayley Goydan was Wellesley's top finisher, advancing to the finals with a 454.90, and then finishing fourth with a 435.60. Both of Goydan's marks surpassed NCAA standards. Sophomore Gabby Cooper-Vespa ranked 13th overall with a score of 373.20 to earn points in her second event of the meet, while senior Kathryn Goffin rounded out the Blue divers with a 17th-place score of 312.75.

Up next for the Blue, Goydan and Cooper-Vespa will compete in the first ever NCAA Division-III Diving Regional on March 1st and 2nd at Springfield College. Meanwhile, Wellesley swimmers will await selections to the 2013 NCAA Championships that will run March 20th-23rd in Shenandoah, Texas.