Two Seven Sisters Championships and Multiple Record-Breaking Performances Were Highlights of the Winter Sports Season
This past weekend, the second straight appearance by Maura Sticco-Ivins '18 at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championship in as many years marked the end of a successful winter sports season. This season also saw a pair of Seven Sisters Championships and multiple record-breaking performances for Wellesley Blue athletes.
Blue track & field set the bar high qualifying two individuals for the NCAA Championships while earning five top-five overall team finishes at events and, most notably, a runner-up finish at the Eastern College Athletics Conference (ECAC) Championships. Abena Asare '18 broke three school records, including her own long jump record, en route to a fourth place finish and All-American honors in the long jump at the NCAA Championships. Asare also captured the New England Division III long jump championships before becoming the first field athlete in school history to qualify for NCAA Indoor nationals. Sharon Ng '16 joined Asare at NCAA Nationals where she saved her best time of the season for her last race posting a personal record time in the mile and finishing ninth in the nation. Isabella Narvaez '17, Mary Keenan '17 and Helen Anderson '19 also established school records during the season.
A pair of early season tournament appearances by Blue basketball provided a preview of what to expect from captain Chelsi Scott '16 through the season. Scott was an all-tournament honoree at both the Skidmore Invitational and the Curry College Tip-Off Tournament, she then averaged a team-best and career-high 13 points and nine rebounds per game during the season. Her 211 rebounds helped her finish as one of the top-ten rebounders in school history with 579 in her career. With only three upper class players on the squad this season, Wellesley basketball will return a young but experienced team next season including Kayla Jang '18 who scored in double-figures 12 times this year and topped 20-points on two occasions.
Blue squash captured the Seven Sisters Championship for the third straight year; the team went 3-0 on the way to the title at this year's event. Led by seniors Kate Loftus '16 and Gabriella Wynne '16 and All-Seven Sisters performers Meera Nayar '17, Phyllis Lin '18 and Sarah Zhang '18, squash won the sixth championship in program history. At the conclusion of the season, Loftus was also named the winner of the College Squash Association's Wetzel Award, given annually to a senior that started playing squash in college and has progressed to a high skill level. She is the third such recipient in Wellesley program history, joining Ashley Stevens '10 and Lila Lee '04. Overall, the team finished with 13 wins for the third year in a row.
Wellesley fencing started a new chapter under first-year head coach Ariana Klinkov, ending the year with a 10-10 record in dual competition. The team went on to take seventh at the annual New England Intercollegiate Fencing Championships, hosted this year at Wellesley’s Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. Taylor Hood '18 was one of the top individual performers at the event, taking fifth in foil. Hood and five other Wellesley fencers went on to participate at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships, with Hood taking 26th in foil. Charlotte Treadwell '16 also earned a top-30 finish for the Blue with a 29th place performance in epee.
One of the most decorated senior classes in Wellesley swimming and diving history departs following the 2015-16 season, but not before leaving their marks on the record books. Dorothy Ren '16 and Charlotte Harris '16 now hold a combined ten individual school records and were part of four school record relay teams, two that also included classmate Ieva Galinyte '16. Ren and Harris also helped the Blue to their 19th straight Seven Sisters Championship, getting help from newcomer Karen Wang '19. Wang broke a 26 year-old school record in the 400 Individual Medley, previously held by Wellesley Athletics Hall of Famer Deborah Twichell McDermott '90. Following the season, three divers advanced to NCAA Regional. Sticco-Ivins' trip to the NCAA Championship earned her national runner-up and All-American honors in 3-Meter Diving for the second time in as many seasons.
Follow Wellesley Blue athletics this spring at WellesleyBlue.com.