Posted: Jan 28, 2023

Wellesley Triumphs over Merrimack on Senior Day, 197-76

Wellesley celebrated it's senior swimmers and divers on Saturday (Bell Pitkin)

WELLESLEY, Mass. - Wellesley College swimming and diving celebrated senior day with a 197-76 victory over Merrimack on Saturday at Chandler Pool.

Prior to the contest, seniors Lily Duff (Scituate, Mass.), Claire Moreland (San Francisco, Calif.), and Elizabeth Park (Dix Hills, N.Y.) were recognized for their contributions to Wellesley swimming and diving over the past four years.

Duff made the most of senior day winning both the one and three meter diving events with scores of 191.48 and a personal-best 226.88 to give Wellesley a 120-41 lead heading into the break.

The day began with Wellesley winning the 200 Yard Medley Relay. Wellesley's team of first years Tracey Liu (Princeton, N.J.), Kavita Sekhon (Los Angeles, Calif.), Aubrey Cantrell (Palo Alto, Calif.), and junior Ariana Mitsuoka (Centennial, Colo.) won the event by over eight seconds with a time of 1:47.96.

The Blue won the 400 Yard IM race with sophomore Cecilia Cai (Palo Alto, Calif.) swimming a 4:42.69 for first place. Wellesley also won the 200 Yard Freestyle with junior McKaela Glanville (Menlo Park, Calif.) securing the top spot at 1:59.08. This was followed by Liu winning the 100 Yard Backstroke with a time of 1:00.84. Additionally, Liu earned first in the 200 Yard Backstroke swimming a 2:14.58 followed by Blue sophomore Julia Lucey (Old Greenwich, Conn.) in second.

Sekhon kept the Blue's event winning streak going with a 1:05.05 to take first in the 100 Yard Breaststroke. Sekhon later won the 200 Yard Breaststroke with a time of 2:23.67 and 200 Yard IM race with a personal-best 2:14.23. Classmate Lara Dashti (Kuwati) took second in the 100 and 200 Yard Breaststroke events.

Merrimack sophomore Olivia Conlan (Queens, N.Y.) took first in the 200 Yard Butterfly with a time of 2:20.03. Mitsuoka captured gold for Wellesley in the 50 Yard Freestyle event swimming a 25.26. Later Mitsuoka won the 100 Yard Freestyle with a blazing pace of 54.94.

First year Neva Sa (Chelmsford, Mass.) swam a 5:18.06 to win the 500 Yard Freestyle. Wellesley junior McKaela Glanville (Menlo Park, Calif.) recorded a season-best 1:00.11 to win the 100 Yard Butterfly race before the Blue closed out their successful day with Dashti, Cai, Glanville, and Mitsuoka winning the 200 Yard Freestyle with a time of 1:42.13.

The Blue return on Thursday, February 16 at WPI for the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships. Merrimack will next race at Sacred Heart on February 4.