COMPLETE RESULTS
MIDDLETOWN, CT -- Steve Kuster's Williams women's swimmng & diving team improved to 6-0 today with convincing wins over Connecticut College (202-92) and Wesleyan (216-83).
The Williams women have never lost to Connecticut College winning all seven contests to date and the Ephs have also never lost to Wesleyan. Williams has defeated the Cardinals 35 consecutive times.
The win over Wesleyan coupled with the win last week at Amherst secures the 2014 Little Three title for the Ephs.
In the longest meet of their regular season, with three teams competing and multiple heats of every event, the Ephwomen maintained their energy and powered through to an exciting and dominant finish. In a pool reminiscent of both last year's men's and 2012's women's NESCAC championships, both teams strove and succeeded in upholding the Williams tradition of competitive excellence.
As noted by head coach Steve Kuster, the meet started off with a significant statement by the women in the opening 200-yd medley relay. In what proved to be a tight race with Connecticut's assorted relay teams, the Ephwomen touched the wall in 1st, 3rd and 4th places. The winning combination of Lauren Jones '17, Breanna Nguyen '16, Sarah Thompson '15, and Faye Sultan '16 came in with an eye-widening time of 1:47.80, one of the team's best relay times so far this season. "The first relay won a close race and set the tone for the rest of the meet," said Kuster, and indeed, the tone was set. For the rest of the meet, nary an event passed without an Eph swimmer taking first place.
Saturday's meet was an excellent opportunity for Kuster's squad to swim many events for the first time this season. Distance swimmers Megan Pierce '17, Olivia Clark '17 and Erica Bucki '15 made their season debuts in the grueling 1650-yd freestyle event. Pierce took first in the event, with Clark and Bucki taking 5th and 6th, with impressive in-season times of 18:20.50 and 18:22.98 respectively. The Ephwomen performed well across the freestyle events, exhibiting their depth in the 200-yd freestyle event. Sophomore Breanna Nguyen placed first with a sizzling time of 1:56.73, followed closely by Freshman Olivia Jackson in third with a time of 1:58.53. The Ephs rounded out the event with Katie Bennett '16 in fourth at 1:58.84.
The 100-backstroke provided the team with their first opportunity for a sweep. Lauren Jones '17 touched the wall first, cracking the 1:00 line with a time of 59.03. Next to the wall was teammate Faye Sultan '16 (1:00.07), followed closely by fellow sophomore Angie Sun (1:00.37).
The dependable diving trio of Murdoch '14, Higgins '15 and Ross '17 faced no competition on the boards, and placed 1st through 3rd respectively.
The sophomore combo of Katie Bennett and Breanna Nguyen took charge in the 500-yd freestyle, both posting impressive in-season times of 5:12.66 and 5:13.33. After this came an exciting Williams spread in the 200-yd IM. Sarah Thompson '15 cruised to first with a time of 2:09.89, followed by Olivia Jackson '17 with another great swim at 2:14.04. Aly Levine '15 was quick on their heels in 5th with a time of 2:15.80.
In typical fashion, the meet closed with an exciting and speedy win for the team in the 400-yd freestyle relay. Battling with Connecticut's A-relay team, Williams swimmers Faye Sultan '16, Lauren Jones '17, Breanna Nguyen '16 and Sarah Thompson '15 charged to first place with a hot time of 3:33.76, outpacing Connecticut by a full 2 seconds.
"Most every event had solid swims," acknowledged Kuster. "However, I'm excited to see us perform in the tough test next weekend with two back-to-back meets. Both who we swim on Friday, and coming back strong on Saturday, will be challenges to rise to."
The Ephwomen look forward to another week of winter study training in preparation for the upcoming two-meet weekend. The team will swim MIT at home Friday, January 24th at 6 PM and Middlebury at home the following day at 1 PM EST.
