Blue Swimming & Diving Edged by Simmons in Dual Meet

(Editors Note: An earlier release reported that Wellesley and Simmons tied, 139.5-139.5. However,  there was a scoring error in the 100-Fly that result in a scoring change, giving Simmons the 140.5 to 138.5 victory.)

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Visiting Simmons College did just enough to defeat Wellesley College swimming & diving on Saturday afternoon, edging their local rivals 140.5-138.5 in a non-conference swimming & diving dual meet at Wellesley's Chandler Pool. Simmons improves to 4-0 in dual meets with the result, while the Blue now hold an 0-3 mark.

Wellesley captured seven of the 16 events on the afternoon, while the visiting Sharks were victorious in nine events, but the Blue were bolstered by a series of competitive times throughout the day.

The hosts opened the afternoon with a victory in the 400 Medley Relay, with Sunny Chiang (Troy, Mich.), Danielle Peterson (Livingston, N.J.), Karen Wang (Holmdel, N.J.) and Cathy Chen (Parsipanny, N.J.) taking the top time in 4:10.26 ahead of the Simmons 'A' relay of Miriam Swisher (Albuquerque, N.M.), Natalie Giraldi (Bedford, N.H.), Michaela Morris (Duxbury, Mass.) and Kerry Felming (Northampton, Mass).

Simmons countered with victories in the 1000-Free and the 200-Free thanks to the efforts of Laura Simpson (Perkiomenville, Pa.) and Swisher, respectively. Simpson outdistanced the field in the 1000-Free finishing in 11:28.30. Wellesley's Veronica Pawlik (Teaneck, N.J.) was second in 12:24.27. Swisher took the 200-Free in 2:03.56 to lead a 1-2-3 Simmons sweep of the event along with Sarah Price (New York, N.Y.) and Julie Nguyen (Salem, Mass.).

Wellesley took victories in three of the next four events, beginning with a victory from Chen in the 100-Back. Chen would also go on to win the 50-Free, completing in the race in 25.65. Simmons earned another win in the 100-Breast, as Giraldi edged out Peterson with a time of 1:10.54. Following Giraldi's win, Wellesley's total was boosted thanks to the Blue's 1-2-3 finish in the 200-Fly. Wang led the charge, finishing in 2:16.62. She was followed by Jessie Feng (Princeton, N.J.) and Maggie Haley (Shady Side, Md.) in second and third with times of 2:17.83 and 2:25.91, respectively. 

Simmons diver Cristina Samaniego (Avon, Conn.) then earned nine of her 18 points on the afternoon in 1-Meter Diving, finishing with a score of 144.65. Samaniego would go on to add a score of 139.50 on the 3-Meter board. 

Following 1-Meter diving, Simmons earned back-to-back victories in the 100-free and 200-Back. Fleming finished ahead of Francesca Dong (Princeton Junction, N.J.) in the 100-Free with a time of 55.92 and Swisher touched the wall ahead of Chiang in the 200-Back in 2:13.84. However, Wellesley countered in the 11th event of the day, the 200-Breast. Lindsey Wu (Livingston, N.J.) and Peterson finished 1-2 for the Blue. The two teammates were just over a second apart, as Wu took the win in 2:36.65 and Peterson was just behind in 2:37.04. 

The back-and-forth competition continued over the day's final five events. Simmons bounced back from Wu's victory in the 200-Breast with a 500-Free victory from Simpson. Simpson raced to a time of 5:32.05. The Blue then earned 1-2-3 finishes in both the 100-Fly and the 200-IM to take a slight lead heading into the final event. Wang won both the 100-Fly, in 1:01.59, and the 200-IM, in 2:16.92, to finish with three first place times in the meet. Feng and Haley took second and third in the 100-Fly, while Chiang and Wu rounded out the top three in the 200-IM. 

Simmons closed out the day with two of the top three times in the 400-Free Relay to earn the tie. Laura List (Bedford, Mass.), Simpson, Price and Swisher won the event in 3:44.51. Wellesley's crew took second in 3:46.95, and the Simmons 'B' relay of Giraldi, Jason Erichsen (Banks, Ore.), Kara Smith (Eastham, Mass.) and Michaela Morris (Duxbury, Mass.) earned the final two points of the day in third in 4:01.01. 

Wellesley returns to Chandler Pool next Saturday, November 19, when they host Seven Sisters rival Mount Holyoke at 1:00 PM. Simmons will host Babson College on Tuesday night, November 15, at 6:00 PM at the Holmes Sports Center.