All-NEWMAC Nods, NCAA Cuts for Blue Swimming on Day Three of NEWMACs

WORCESTER, Mass. -- With day three of the 2014 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships in the books, the Wellesley swimming and diving team is in third place out of 10 teams. One day of action remains at the event, which is being hosted by WPI.

Highlighting the day three swims for the Blue were three NCAA "B" cuts, two All-NEWMAC finishes, and a new school record. Overall, Wellesley accounted for 17 individual and two relay qualifiers in tonight's championship and consolation finals, held for six events. 

Leading the way for Wellesley, was a strong overall performance in the 200-medley relay, with both entries recording top-five times. The Blue "A" relay took second overall, as senior Emma Mrkonic, sophomores Charlotte Harris and Dorothy Ren, and senior Keelin Nave, teamed up for a time of 1:46.23. The swim earned the foursome a spot on the All-NEWMAC team, an NCAA cut, and a new school record. 

Wellesley's "B" relay of first-year Sharon Wu, sophomore Erin Yang, first-year Sarah May, and senior Mariam Amirkhanashvili paired up for a time of 1:48.84. Their mark was the fifth fastest overall, surpassing "A" relay teams from six schools. The group also recorded the fastest "B" relay time in the event.

Individually, Wellesley recorded seven top-five finishes in the evening session, led by an individual All-NEWMAC nod from Ren. The sophomore led four Blue swimmers qualified to the evening session in the 100-fly, finishing second overall in an NCAA "B" cut time of 57.23. May also nabbed a top-five finish and an NCAA cut, taking fifth overall in 57.48. In the consolation final, Wellesley sophomore Theresa Mitchell recorded a time of 59.27 to rank 14th, while Amirkhanashvili took 16th in 59.93. 

The Blue also racked up points in the 100-back, as three swimmers reached the championship finals. Mrkonic led the way with a third place finish, recording a 57.90, while Ren was right on her tail, ranking fourth with a 58.40. Wu rounded out the championship final participants, ranking eight overall in a time of 59.73. Senior Gabriela Kovacikova qualified to swim in the consolation final, touching the wall in a time of 1:01.38.

Elsewhere, Harris, Nave, first-year Leah Furman, and sophomore Ieva Galinyte all qualified to championship finals. Harris was fifth in the 100-breast, recording a time of 1:07.55. Nave and Furman swam the 200-free, with Nave finishing fifth with a 1:54.66 and Furman taking eighth in 1:55.21. Rounding out the championship final qualifiers, Galinyte swam a time of 4:42.99 to finish fifth in the 400-IM. 

Wrapping up the evening session for the Blue were three consolation final qualifiers in the 400-IM and one in the 100-breast. In the 400-IM, senior Anne Hamilton took 11th overall in 4:48.72, junior Tiffany Chen was 15th in 4:59.04, and senior Lindsey Shepardson was 19th in 5:05.49. In the 100-breast, Yang ended the night in 15th with a 1:09.55.

In the team standings, Wellesley stands third with 604 points, behind MIT (927) and Springfield (836.5). WPI (389.5) and Wheaton (368) round out the top five, followed by Mount Holyoke (335), Coast Guard (294), Clark (264), Smith (221), and Babson (180).

Tomorrow's slate of events includes the 1,650-free, the 200-back, the 100-free, the 200-breast, the 200-fly, the 400-free relay, and three-meter diving. Preliminaries begging at 10:00am and championship and consolation finals will start at 6:00pm. 

Live results can be accessed at: http://www.doubletek.org/wpiswimdive/ while live video will be available at: http://wpi.prestosports.com/video/live.