Ephwomen Continue to Dominate at Day 2 of Middlebury Invitational

MIDDLEBURY, VT--The Ephwomen were back at it Saturday morning, competing in the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100s of stroke, and 200 freestyle. In the 200 medley relay, the team of Maddy Wu (27.95), Charlotte Wishnack (29.89), Amy Zhao (26.12), and Rika Yahashiri (24.95) stopped the clock at 1:48.91 to take fourth place. The team of Clementine Robins (28.30), Issy Hiller (31.34), Abi Greenberg (27.76), and Emma Dimter (24.10) combined for 1:51.50 for ninth place. 

Lily Codd was the sole Eph woman in the 400 individual medley with a third place finish in a 4:36.48. She was out in 1:02.05 for the butterfly split and kept a tight race with UVM swimmers.

There were many Ephwomen who swam the 100 butterfly today. Coming out on top was Sophia Verkleeren with a first place finish in a 55.95. Amy Zhao swam a very speedy 58.23, a season best, for third place. Liz Ramoy touched in a 1:00.48 and Clementine Robins touched in a 1:00.49. Charlotte Wishnack also had a strong swim in a 1:00.69. Isabel Espinosa and Brielle Gold also touched in a 1:00.95 and 1:00.98 respectively. 

Azmera Gebre came up on top for the Ephwomen in the 200 freestyle in a personal best of 1:55.96 for seventh place. Charlotte Brawer and Bernadette Ramoy placed 15-16 in a 1:58.65 and 1:58.77. Ruby Groves and Irene Yang placed 20-21 in a 1:59.61 and 1:59.93 breaking the 2:00 barrier. Finally, Kyla Kelley and Gracie O'Connell placed 28-29 in a 2:01.42 and 2:02.69.

The Ephwomen swept places 1-3 in the 100 breaststroke. Annika Chu swam a season best and 1:06.74 winning the event and Rika Yahashiri swam a strong 1:08.18. Abi Greenberg placed ninth in a 1:11.03. Next, Alden White placed fifth the 100 backstroke in 59.69. Maddy Wu also swam a strong 1:01.02 placing tenth. Clare McDermott placed 14th in a 1:02.92.

In between the morning and evening swimming sessions, the divers competed on 1 meter board, once again competing a full list of 11 dives. Senior   Herman and Ashley Loh were back on the boards for the Ephs, with Herman taking the win and Loh took second place, both reaching the NCAA Regionals Qualifying scores.

Emma Dimter, Azmera Gebre, and Abi Greenberg kicked off the final session for the Ephs in the 500 freestyle. Dimter was the top finisher for the ephwomen with a time of 5:13.81, a season-best and very consistently swum. She placed third. Gebre had an outstanding last 100 yards and touched fifth in a new lifetime best time of 5:15.67. Greenberg finished sixth in a 5:19.44. Next, Clementine Robins won the 200 backstroke in 2:04.18, a season-best. She took charge of the event from the very beginning, with an opening 100 of 59.75. Her teammates Kyla Kelley (2:13.85) and Gracie O'Connell (2:15.34) touched 6th and 8th respectively.

Annika Chu was the top finisher for the ephwomen for third place in a time of 54.31. Isabel Espinosa (54.53) and Clare McDermott (55.21) finished 4th and 6th respectively. Lily Codd (55.99), Aly Eward (56.18), Maddy Wu (56.18), Liz Ramoy (56.81), Charlotte Wishnack (57.25), and Amy Zhao (58.01) also had strong swims in the event.

Charlotte Brawer had a very impressive swim in the 200 breaststroke to take first place with a 2:27.71. Issy Hiller was right behind her touching second in a 1:28.94. Rika Yahashiri also had a strong back half to her 200, swimming a lifetime best of 2:29.92 breaking 2:30 for the first time. Irene Yang and Ruby Groves rounded out the top five in a 2:30.54 and 2:32.25. Sophia Verkleeren was Williams' sole representative in the 200 butterfly today, swimming a 2:02.95 for fifth place.

The 400 freestyle relay was won by the team of Azmera Gebre (54.04), Rika Yahashiri (55.12), Amy Zhao (56.13), and Sophia Verkleeren (52.41) with a final time of 3:37.70. The team of Alden White (56.35), Emma Dimter (53.79), Kyla Kelley (56.21), and Lily Codd (55.22) took fifth place with a final time of 3:41.57. Finally, the team of Charlotte Brawer (56.05), Gracie O'Connell (57.88), Bernadette Ramoy (52.85), and Brielle Gold (58.19) took seventh place with a final time of 3:44.97. 

"I thought this meet, and in particular our last session, was a great start to our championship season." Assistant Coach Allie Clark said. "Everyone who completed their seasons did a great job across their events, both in the water and on the boards. And to top it off, we had 4 seniors complete their swimming careers tonight – we couldn't be prouder of them!"

The Williams Women's Swim and Dive team returns to competition at the NESCAC Championships from February 13-16 in Waterville, Maine.