Posted: Feb 23, 2024

Blue Swimming & Diving’s 200 Free Relay Team Records Program Record on Day Two of NEWMAC Championships; 400 Medley Relay Claims Second

Wellesley swimming & diving's 400 Medley Relay team earned second at the NEWMAC Championships (Dave Curtis)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Wellesley College swimming & diving's 200 Free Relay "A" squad set a new program record on the second day of the NEWMAC Championships at MIT's Zesiger Center Pool. The Blue sit in fifth place in team competition after two days of action.

The 200 Free Relay team had a time of 1:37.32 to place sixth in the "A" finals. The squad consisted of seniors Ariana Mitsuoka (Centennial, Colo.) and Mira Tang (Mercer Island, Wash.), and sophomores Tracey Liu (Princeton, N.J.), and Kavita Sekhon (Los Angeles, Calif.).

Additionally, the 400 Medley Relay "A" team was the runner-up in the "A" final. The team's blazing time of 3:51.22 was only .05 off of an NCAA "B" cut. Liu, Sekhon, junior Cecilia Cai (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Mitsuoka earned NEWMAC Second Team All-Conference honors for their performance.

MIT leads the team competition with 587 points. Springfield is currently in second with 307 and Coast Guard rounds out the top three with 282. Wheaton (268), Wellesley (206), WPI (201), Smith (131), Mount Holyoke (120), Babson (114) and Clark (112) make up the rest of the field.

Sekhon and senior McKaela Glanville (Menlo Park, Calif.) went 2-3 in the "B" finals of the 200 IM. Sekhon had a time of 2:10.46. Glanville was right behind with a time of 2:10.47. Cai finished seventh in the race with a time of 2:12.52.

Liu scored points for the Blue in the 50 Free. The sophomore logged a time of 24.28 to earn third in the "B" finals. Mitsuoka also competed in the "B" finals, placing ninth with a time of 24.81.

Competing in her first NEWMAC Championship, first year Jaya Magavi (West Hartford, Conn.) registered a score of 460.25 across 11 dives in the 1-Meter Diving event. The score put Magavi in fourth behind a trio of MIT divers.

Wellesley's 200 Free Relay "B" team of junior JJ Kim (New Haven, Conn.), sophomore Lara Dashti (Kuwait), first year Joyce Kim (Houston, Texas) and senior Mona Li (Cary, N.C.) claimed fourth in the "B" finals with a time of 1:40.96.

Sophomore Emily Richardson (Bedford, N.H.) swam a personal best time of 5:23.01 to finish 21st in the 500 Free.

The 400 Medley Relay "B" team of JJ Kim, juniors Maya Hart (Menlo Park, Calif.), Cecilia Cai (Palo Alto, Calif.) and senior Ariana Mitsuoka (Centennial, Colo.) time of 3:56.90 was good for silver in the "B" finals.

The Blue continue competing at the NEWMAC Championships tomorrow. Prelims begin at 10:00 AM and finals start at 6:00 PM.