BRUNSWICK, Maine – Tufts owns a 147.5-point lead over the field following the second day of action at the NESCAC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. The Jumbos won three events to add to their victory in the 800 freestyle on the opening night of the championship to total 815.5 points through 10 events. Williams stands second with 668 points while Amherst (486.0), host Bowdoin (478.5), and Middlebury (429.5) round out the top five teams.
The Jumbos started the evening session by setting a pool record to win the 200 freestyle relay. The team of senior Katelin Ulmer, junior Jillian Cudney, first-year Lillian Klinginsmith, and senior Elle Morse combined for a time of 1:32.78.
Williams won back-to-back events as junior and top-seeded Amanda Wager won the 50 breaststroke with a pool-record time of 28.86 and junior Samantha Kilcoyne finished first in the 50 butterfly to win the event for the third time in her career.
Tufts first-year Madeleine Dunn dropped 3.61 seconds off her prelim swim time to capture first place in the 500 freestyle. Dunn posted an NCAA B-cut time of 4:52.69 to win the event and senior teammate Claire Brennan placed second (4:52.74).
Bowdoin junior Ella Martin, the NESCAC record holder in the 50 backstroke, repeated as the NESCAC Champion registering a time of 25.64. Martin set the NESCAC and NESCAC meet record at last year’s championship.
In the 200 IM, Eph sophomore Sophia Verkleeren shaved 2.14 seconds off her prelim swim time to set a NESCAC meet and pool record with a time of 2:00.56 for the win.
Ulmer, the No. 3 seed entering the championship in the 50 freestyle, won the race with a time of 23.38. It was Ulmer’s second NESCAC title of the evening after leading off the Jumbos’ 200 freestyle relay squad.
Amherst sophomore Sydney Bluestein claimed the NESCAC title on the 1-meter board with 475.40 points. Bluestein’s victory extended the streak of a Mammoth diver winning the event to five straight years.
In the final event of the evening, the Williams team Verkleeren, Wager, Kilcoyne, and sophomore Emma Schulman won the 400 medley relay with a NESCAC meet record time of 3:40.62 which was over seven seconds better than the Ephs’ entry time and well ahead of the second-place team from Tufts. The victory marked the eighth straight year the Ephs have claimed the NESCAC title in the event.
The NESCAC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships continue on Saturday with prelim swims at 10 a.m. and diving trials at 2 p.m. The evening session starts at 5:45 p.m. with the Senior Ceremony.
Team Standings (through 10 events)
- Tufts – 815.5 pts
- Williams – 668.0 pts
- Amherst – 486.0 pts
- Bowdoin – 478.5 pts
- Middlebury – 429.5 pts
- Bates – 353.5 pts
- Hamilton – 322.5 pts
- Colby – 317.0 pts
- Conn. College – 278.5 pts
- Wesleyan – 253.5 pts
- Trinity – 190.5 pts
