The Williams Women's Swim and Dive team picked up right where they left off in 2023, kicking off the new year with a win over Amherst, 183-113. This win continues the Ephwomen's undefeated season and extends their Division III dual meet streak, which began in 2008, to 130 wins. With their win over Wesleyan in December, the Ephwomen also became Little Three Champions today.
Today was the Ephs' second annual 'Pride Meet.' The meet served as an opportunity to celebrate queer athletes on the Williams Swim and Dive team and to acknowledge the work that has been done in past years and still needs to be done to make the team a space that is safe and welcoming for all. Today was also the team's Senior Meet, where they celebrated the Class of 2024 in their final meet at the Samuelson-Muir Pool.
The meet kicked off with the team of Sophia Verkleeren '25, Amanda Wager '23.5, Samantha Kilcoyne '23.5, and Emma Dimter '27 taking the win in the 400 medley relay in a time of 3:49.34. The Ephwomen made it a 1-2 punch with the team of Caitlin Murphy '24, Charlotte Wishnack '25, Emma Schulman '24, and Zora Vujovic '25 stopping the clock at 3:58.28.
In the first individual (and longest) event of the day, Lily Codd '26 stopped the clock at 10:28.13 for second place. Her teammates Frances Hayward '24 and Clementine Robins '27 placed third and fifth respectively, with 10:31.91 and 10:44.27.
The next series of events (200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, and 200 fly) were all won by the Ephwomen. Verkleeren '25 won the 200 freestyle in a speedy 1:53.41. Carter Roebuck '27 powered to the wall in 1:56.33 for fourth. Next, the 100 breaststroke featured a powerful trio of Wishnack '25 (1:05.23), Wager '23.5 (1:05.41), and Bernadette Ramoy '27 (1:07.44) claiming the top three spots.
Both the 100 backstroke and 200 butterfly saw the Ephwomen claim the top four spots. Kilcoyne '23.5 swam a 57.67 in the 100 backstroke to win the race, followed by Alden White's '27 1:01.43, Murphy's '24 1:01.62, and Aly Eward's '26 1:02.26. Abi Greenberg '27 claimed her first career individual win for Williams Swim and Dive with her 2:08.98 in the 200 butterfly. Her swim was fueled by a speedy last 50, which out split her second and third 50s of the race. She was joined by Schulman '24 (2:09.13), Ruby Groves '26 (2:10.78), and Gracie O'Connell '26 (2:11.55).
In the sprint freestyle events, Dimter '27 was the highest placing Eph in both the 50 and 100, taking first in the 50 with a time of 24.32 and third in the 100 with a time of 53.62. She was joined by Vujovic '25 in the 50, who captured fourth place with a time of 24.96. In the 100, Vujovic touched the wall closely behind Dimter in 54.67, taking fourth place. Irene Yang '26 swam a 54.94 for fifth.
Like the 100 backstroke, the 200 backstroke was a 1-2-3-4 finish for the Ephwomen, with Verkleeren '25 leading the charge in 2:02.24, followed by the same trio who claimed 2-3-4 in the 100 backstroke. White '27 stopped the clock at 2:11.49, Murphy '24 at 2:12.71, and Eward '26 at 2:15.22. Like the 100 breaststroke, the 200 breaststroke was won by Wishnack '25 in 2:21.68. Roebuck '27 went 2:26.74 for third and Sarah Johnson '23.5 swam 2:31.37 for fourth.
In perhaps the most exciting event of the day, Hayward '24 negative split her 500 freestyle for a come-from-behind win. Her final four 50s were all faster than the 50 before it. She went 5:05.13 to win by .08 seconds, splitting an impressive 28.81 on the final 50 of the race. Codd '26 swam a gutsy race, taking her first 50 out in 27.58 and her first 200 out in 1:59.92, ultimately stopping the clock at 5:10.27 for third. Fresh off her 200 butterfly win, Greenberg '27 swam a 5:17.31 for fifth.
In the 100 butterfly, Kilcoyne '23.5 claimed the win with a time of 56.09. Her teammates Schulman '24 (57.51) and Liz Ramoy '25 (59.58) took third and fourth places, respectively.
On the diving side of the pool, Adelaide Herman '25 and Ashley Loh '27 faced fierce competition from Amherst today. Herman finished in second place on 1 meter, with a final score of 254.76. Herman's 1m performance was just shy of qualifying for NCAA Regionals, which requires two qualifications on the same board. Herman has already met the qualifying standard on 1m once this season. Loh '27 claimed third on 1m with a final score of 214.33. On 3m, Herman walked away with the win with a final score of 256.80, while teammate Loh '27 took fourth with a final score of 158.02. Loh competed 5134D for the first time for Williams today.
The final section of the meet featured the final individual event - the 200 IM - and the 400 freestyle relay. Yang '26 stopped the clock at 2:09.19 for second place in the 200 IM. Wishnack '25 took third in 2:11.48 and Codd '26 took fourth in 2:11.90. And while only the top three finishers for Williams can score, it is worth noting that Greenberg '27, Groves '26, O'Connell '26, White '27, and B. Ramoy '27 all swam times that would've captured 5-9th place.
The team of Dimter '27, Kilcoyne '23.5, Vujovic '25, and Verkleeren '25 captured the win in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:33.02. The team of Schulman '24, Roebuck '27, Gabby Lopez-Ona '24, and B. Ramoy '27 swam a time of 3:40.78 for second.
The Ephwomen will return to competition next Saturday when they travel to Connecticut College to compete.
