COMPLETE RESULTS
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—Williams women's swimming and diving defeated Middlebury College 211-83 this afternoon in their last dual meet of the season, upping their record to a perfect 8-0.
This afternoon was particularly special as it was the Ephs' "Senior Meet", honoring their talented senior class in the last home meet of their career. The team was certainly tired coming into their second meet of the weekend, and Middlebury was sure to put up a fight. However, the Ephs were determined to bring the same energy that has come to be expected of the Ephwomen.
The afternoon started off on a great note, with the Ephs taking 1-2-4 in the 400-yd medley relay. Williams' 'A' relay of Katherine Priest '18, Breanna Nguyen '16, Megan Pierce '17, and Emma Waddell '18 touched first at a time of 3:58.99, followed by the 'B' team at 4:04.53. This race set the tone for the afternoon as the team transitioned into the individual events.
The first individual race was the 1000-yd freestyle, in which Emma Sawkins '18 continued to show her talent in distance events, placing first at 10:35.40. Her time is the third fastest in the NESCAC going into the conference championships in three weeks. The Ephs continued to demonstrate their distance strength later in the meet, with Olivia Jackson '17 and Maddie Downs '18 taking first and second in the 500-yd freestyle, at 5:15.57 and 5:16.78 respectively. However, this success was not limited to just the longer events; the women demonstrated equal strength in the shorter events that were offered at the meet.
This meet offered some of the shorter events that the Ephs will swim at the conference championships, including 50's of strokes. In the 50-yd backstroke, Williams swept first through third, all finishing within less than a second from each other. In first place was Emma Waddell '18 at 28.11, followed by Maia Hare '19 (28.18) in second, and Anna Epstein '16 (28.82) in third. Later, the trio also swept the 50-yd butterfly, with Hare touching first at 25.54, followed by Waddell (25.75) and Epstein (27.19) in second and third respectively. The Ephs continued with the 100-yd individual medley, an event that only this year has been added to the NCAA lineup. The top three places were once again taken by Williams women, with only a hundredth of a second separating Megan Pierce '17 (1:00.46) and Emma Waddell '18 (1:00.47) for first place.
Ariana Ross '17 once again represented the Ephwomen proudly in the diving well, taking first on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. Ross notably topped her lifetime best performance on the 3-meter from the day before with a score of 314.25.
The last event of the afternoon was the 400-yd freestyle relay, and sentiments were high as the seniors prepared for their last race at their home pool. The Williams women took first and second to seal their victory. Further entertainment and excitement was provided by the all senior women relay (which unfortunately was disqualified due to the abundance of members).
The seniors ended their dual meet career with a performance to be proud of, preparing themselves for the nearing championship season. Senior captains Maddy Holker and Breanna Nguyen commented on the season and the upcoming meets: "Senior emotions were definitely high as we raced to touch the wall for the last time in our home pool. We are proud of our team for attaining another undefeated dual meet season. However, we are more excited for the beginning of our championship season next week and to see more great racing in the future."
The Williams women begin their championship season at the Middlebury College Invitational in Middlebury, VT this Friday at 5:30 PM Eastern Standard Time.
