New London, CT – The Williams Women's Swim and Dive team traveled to Connecticut today to take on Connecticut College. They claimed a decisive victory (200-88), as they won every event, extending their Division III dual meet win streak, which began in 2008, to 131 wins. Eph heado coach Steve Kuster had the following to say about the Ephwomen's performance: "The women did a really nice job of focusing on racing/competing today. I hope they use the energy they created and effort they put in as a blueprint for the rest of our meets."
The meet started with a bang. The team of Sophia Verkleeren '25, Charlotte Wishnack '25, Samantha Kilcoyne '23.5, and Emma Dimter '27 won the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:46.00. The 'B' 200 medley relay team of Caitlin Murphy '24, Amanda Wager '23.5, Gabriella Lopez-Ona '24, and Zora Vujovic '25Â made it a 1-2 finish for the Ephwomen, touching the wall with a final time of 1:49.91.
The first individual event of the day was the longest event of the day - the 1650. Frances Hayward '24 swam an incredibly consistent race to win in a final time of 17:45.78 - six seconds faster than she was at this meet last year. Clementine Robins '27, in her first collegiate mile, touched the wall in second place with a final time of 18:10.40.
Williams made it a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 freestyle. Lily Codd '26 was out like a rocket, claiming a 0.8-second lead after the first 50. She ended up taking the win with a very speedy 1:54.91. She was followed by the 'Emma duo' -- Emma Schulman '24 took second in 1:56.89 with very consistent splits, while Emma Dimter '27 took third in 1:56.96 with an incredibly fast final 50 of 28.67.Â
The stroke events of the day started with the 100 backstroke. Irene Yang '26 held off a charging Connecticut College swimmer to win in 1:00.23. Alden White '27 swam a 1:01.82 to claim third place. The next event was the 100 breaststroke. Charlotte Wishnack '25 claimed victory, swimming her race in 1:06.16. She was followed by Brielle Gold '27, who went 1:07.18. Rika Yahashiri '25 swam 1:09.68 for fourth.
The 200 fly featured a dominant 1-2-3-4-5 finish for the Ephwomen. Sophia Verkleeren '25 swam a very impressive race to touch the wall in 2:04.76. This was her personal best time. She was followed by Ruby Groves '26 (2:09.30), Gracie O'Connell '26 (2:11.77), Lillie Bushway '24 (2:16.01), and Lopez-Ona (2:16.20). Verkleeren went on to win the 100 butterfly later on in the meet, completing the butterfly sweep. She swam a speedy 56.74, less than 0.1 off of her personal best time. She was followed by Gold in 58.61. Gold's first 50 was a very impressive 27.29. Abi Greenberg '27 made it a 1-2-3 sweep with a 1:00.22, holding off a Connecticut College swimmer by 0.02 seconds.
Samantha Kilcoyne '23.5Â won the 50 freestyle in a time of 24.68. Her teammates Carter Roebuck '27 (25.41) and Sarah Johnson '23.5 (25.46) touched the wall in third and fourth place. Kilcoyne went on to win the 100 freestyle in a time of 53.43. Her teammate Dimter made it a 1-2 finish for the Ephwomen with her time of 53.93. Alden White '27, known for her backstroke prowess, showed her sprint freestyle chops today with her fourth-place finish (55.91).
Adelaide Herman '25 and Ashley Loh '27 competed for the Ephwomen in the 1m and 3m diving events today. Herman and Loh finished in first and second place on both boards. Herman scored 240.37 points on 1m, followed by Loh's 239.40 points. On 3m, Herman scored 242.40 points and Loh scored 234.80 points. When asked about Herman's and Loh's performance today, dive coach Brandon Pearson summed it up in just two words: "They ate."
Fresh off her win in the 200 freestyle, Codd swam 2:07.05 in the 200 backstroke to claim the win, taking the race out in 1:02.39. Yang, the 100 backstroke winner, swam 2:09.64 for third place. O'Connell, often known for her butterfly skills, showed off her backstroke skills, touching the wall in 2:10.94 for fourth.
One of the most exciting races of the day was the 200 breaststroke. Ruby Groves '26, typically a butterflyer and IMer, held off a Connecticut College swimmer to win the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:28.55, just three seconds off her best time. Her teammate Liz Ramoy '25 touched the wall at 2:32.03 to finish fourth.
The second-longest event of the day, the 500 freestyle, was won by Emma Schulman '24, the second-place finisher in the 200 freestyle. Her final time was 5:12.54. Roebuck, the third-place finisher in the 50 freestyle, was just behind in 5:13.97. Bushway (5:18.27) and Wager (5:21.14) rounded out the top four for the Ephwomen.Â
The final individual event of the meet was the 200 IM. Verkleeren, in her third win of the day, dominated the race. She swam 2:03.64, a time which would've landed her in the B final at 2023 NCAA Championships (where she won the NCAA Division III title in the 200 IM). That is a very impressive swim for this point of the season. Verkleeren's teammate Codd, winner of the 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke, took second with a time of 2:09.39. Wishnack (2:12.08), Greenberg (2:13.49), and Groves (2:13.95) rounded out the top 5 for the Ephwomen.
The meet concluded with the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Dimter, Kilcoyne, Yang, and Vujovic swam to victory, combining for a final time of 1:38.52. The team of Schulman, Ramoy, Roebuck, and Lopez-Ona were just 0.02 seconds back from the Connecticut College 'A' team, touching the wall in 1:40.91 for third place. Roebuck out split her competitor by 0.77 and Lopez-Ona out split her competitor by 0.47 to make it a close race down the stretch.Â
The Ephwomen return to competition next Friday, January 26th when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on #5 MIT and #4 NYU at 2pm. The very next day, they will travel to Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. to take on Hamilton and Middlebury at 1pm. These two meets will conclude their dual meet season.
