For Immediate Release
February 2, 2008
Wellesley Sports Information
Courtesy MHC Sports Information
Wellesley College Swimming & Diving Downs Mount Holyoke
Sorenson, Wu Set New School Records
SOUTH HADLEY, MA – The Wellesley College women’s swimming and diving team won 12 of 16 events en route to a 155-120 victory over host Mount Holyoke College this afternoon in South Hadley, Mass. With their 17th-straight win over the Lyons, the Blue improved their season record to 8-3. Mount Holyoke, which last defeated Wellesley during the 1988-89 campaign, fell to 4-5. The Lyons were competing in front of their home crowd for the last time this season.
Thirteen members of Wellesley’s squad figured into victories on the day. First year Catherine Poon (McLean, Va.) and sophomore Hilary Gram (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) tallied two first place finishes apiece to lead the way. Poon took home top honors in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 27.86, while Gram grabbed first place in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:09.83. The duo teamed with juniors Savanna Johnson (Bloomington, Ind./Edgewood) and Elise Spedden (Clarksville, Md./Revere) to win the 200-meter medley relay (2:10.54).
Wellesley also received a boost from sophomore Emilie Mitten (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk), who recorded the top time in the 200-meter freestyle (2:17.56). She teamed with Deborah Dunsmore (Rockville, Md.), Katie Guynn (Salem, Va./Salem) and Alexandra Simas (Bellevue, Wash.) to collect a first place result in the 200-meter freestyle relay (4:28.26).
The Blue’s remaining two time winners were junior Kate Sorenson (Bolton, Mass./Hollis/Brookline) and senior Jenny Wu (Livingston, N.J./Livingston). Both of Sorenson’s wins came in the diving events. She scored 281.63 points in the 1-meter competition, breaking her own school record, and 281.33 points in the 3-meter contest. Meanwhile, Wu claimed victories in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:20.26) and the 100-meter individual medley (1:12.11). Her 100-IM time broke a 21-year old school record.
Victoria Nichols (Concord, N.H./Concord) (800-meter freestyle – 10:16.03), Stepheny Xiang (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) (100-meter backstroke – 1:13.73) and Allie Williams (River Forest, Ill.) (400-meter freestyle – 5:01.38) also earned first place finishes for the guests.
Leading the way for Mount Holyoke was senior Grace Bauer (Oakdale, Conn./Montville), who won a pair of races. Her time of 1:02.82 in the 100-meter freestyle nearly broke the school record, and she clocked a 31.37 to win the 50-meter butterfly.
Bauer competed in the 200-meter medley along with Ginny Taylor (San Luis Obispo, Calif./San Luis Obispo), Cristina Vieira (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis) and Lisa Nash (Shorewood, Wisc./Shorewood). The quartet took second place with a time of 2:10.99, which was just short of the school record.
Taylor and Vieira accounted for the Lyons remaining two triumphs. Taylor turned in a time of 37.91 to win the 50-meter breaststroke, while Vieira won the 50-meter backstroke with a time of 34.78.
Both teams are scheduled to round out their regular season slates next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Mount Holyoke (4-5) will travel to Smith College for a dual-meet, while Wellesley (8-3) will visit Connecticut College for a tri-meet with Connecticut and Bates College.