Wellesley Swim & Dive Sweeps Meet with Babson and Coast Guard

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley College swimming & diving swept a pair of New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) dual meets over Babson College and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Friday afternoon at Chandler Pool.

The Blue won 10 of 16 events to defeat Babson 220-71, and Coast Guard 167-133. Wellesley is now 5-0 in dual meets. In the dual meet between Babson and Coast Guard, the Coast Guard men claimed a 181-105 victory and the women earned a 196-95 win.

First year Shawyuan Hsu (Taipei, Taiwan) helped the Blue to four victories in the meet, while classmate Elizabeth Park (Dix Hills, N.Y.) and sophomore Jessica Wegner (Taipei, Taiwan), helped key three victories, respectively.

Hsu teamed with Wegner, Park, and senior Maggie Haley (Shady Side, Md.), to earn a time of 1:51.33 as the Blue opened the meet with a victory in the 200 Medley Relay. Hsu would then go on to earn two individual victories for the Blue, finishing first in the 50 Free (24.14) and the 100 Free (54.60). Hsu's time in the 50 Free was a season and career best mark for the first year.

Wegner and Park also added a pair of individual event wins in the meet. Wegner took the 100 Back (1:00.40) and the 100 Fly (59.51), while Park finished in first place in the 100 (1:08.22) and 200 Breast (2:29.06). Park was also second in the 200 IM in a thrilling finish, earning a time of 2:13.96, just .16 seconds behind Coast Guard's Sarah Passilla (Winter Garden, Fla.).

Hsu concluded her afternoon by helping the Blue take first in the 400 Free Relay. Hsu, senior Danielle Peterson (Livingston, N.J.), sophomore Marisa Papagelis (Westborough, Mass.), and junior Hannah May (Cincinnati, Ohio) snagged first in 3:42.31. May, who anchored the 400 Free Relay, also finished in second place in the 200 Free with a time of 1:59.26.

In diving, first year Lily Duff (Scituate, Mass.) took first place on the 3-meter board with a final score of 207.80. Duff was also second in 1-meter diving with a score of 215.10.

Other top finishers for the Blue included: sophomore Shelby Ripp (St. Louis, Mo.), who finished fourth in the 1000 Free with a time of 11:25.81 and fourth place in the 500 Free with a time of 5:35.12. Haley finished in second place in the 200 Fly (2:18.97) and first year Melanie Zhang (Westlake Village, Calif.) finished fifth to lead the Blue in the 200 Back with a time of 2:21.70.

Next up, the Blue will host Smith for Senior Day tomorrow, January 11, at 1:00 PM.