Blue Swimming & Diving Tops Clark to Open Dual Meet Season

WELLESLEY, Mass. — Wellesley College Swimming and Diving kicked-off its Dual Meet Schedule in a big way on Saturday afternoon, defeating Clark University 235-63 on at Chandler Pool.

Senior Keelin Nave, junior Charlotte Harris and sophomores Sharon Wu and Leah Furman got the day going for the Blue with a victory in the 200 Yard Medley Relay, finishing at 1:52.68, just ahead Wellesley's 'B' team of senior Tiffany Chen, junior Suman Kumar, and first years Sophia Dillon-Davidson and Lindsey Wu. 

The win was the first of 14 for Wellesley, as the Blue took home victories in all but two events on Saturday.  

Nave also collected victories in the 200 Yard Butterfly and 100 Yard Freestyle, coming in ahead of teammates Grace Bachman and Misha Olynyk in the 200-Fly with a time of 2:12.29. She finished the 100-Free at 54.53. 

Harris added a pair of individual victories on the day, taking the 200 Yard Breaststroke over first year teammate Lindsay Wu with a time of 2:32.96. Harris then went on to capture the 200 Yard IM later in the day, again finishing ahead of Wu, with a time of 2:21.09. 

Furman took home the next Blue victory, winning the 200 Yard Freestyle with a time of 1:58.28, finishing ahead of Harris, who touched the wall at 2:02.87 and first year Patricia Chen who came in third at 1:04.10. Furman would also finish first in the 500-Free with a time of 5:18.73.

First year and reigning NEWMAC Diver of the Week Maura Sticco-Ivins, recorded the second and third victories of her collegiate career, taking the one meter competition with a score of 293.92 and the three meter competition with a score of 271.05. 

Wellesley senior Gabby Cooper-Vespa took second in the one meter with a score of 235.64 before finishing third in the three meter competition at 220.42. 

Junior Dorothy Ren also raced to victory in the 100 Yard Backstroke, earning a victory with a time of 1:00.98. Ren picked up two more first place finishes in the 50 Yard Freestyle, where she bested first year teammates Patricia Chen and Fiona Chung with a time of 25.19, and the 100 Yard Butterfly, where she finished with the top time of 59.77.

The Blue closed out the afternoon with a victory in the 400-Free Relay, as the team of Bachman, Furman, Nave and Patricia Chen finished with a time of 3:45.30.  

Wellesley Swimming & Diving will host Simmons College next Saturday at Chandler Pool. The dual meet will begin at 1:00 PM.