MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - The No. 8-ranked Williams College women's swimming & diving team won its 22nd NESCAC Championship and third straight at Wesleyan University Thursday-Sunday.
In a meet that came down to the very last session, Williams overcame a 26-point deficit after the third day of competition. The Ephs finished with 1,725.5 points and second-place Tufts compiled a final score of 1,640.5. The meet was a lot of back and forth on the scoreboard between the Ephs and the Jumbos.
The NESCAC Rookie of the Year is
Sophie Phelps, while
Steve Kuster,
Allie Clark,
James Singewald and
Trent Makowiec earned NESCAC Swimming Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. Furthermore, seniors
Lily Codd (341 points) and
Irene Yang (300) finished second and fourth, respectively, in the Career High-Point Swimmer Awards category.
The Ephs notably set a school record amidst the multitude of races this weekend. They broke the 200 freestyle relay record that was set in 2018. The team of
Maggie Farley (23.52), Yang (23.14), Phelps (22.74) and
Emma Dimter (22.99) put together an outstanding swim, marking their new place on the record books.
A number of All-NESCAC performances were also achieved this weekend, helping the Ephs rack up points to take first place in the end. On Friday,
Anna Doherty and
Carter Roebuck took second and third place in the 500 freestyle.
Aly Eward placed second in the 50 backstroke. Phelps and Yang took first and third, respectively, in the 200 IM.
Ashley Loh took third on the 1-meter board.
Following that up with Saturday's events, Codd was runner-up in the 1,000. Farley placed second in the 100 butterfly. Phelps and Doherty placed one and two, respectively, in the 400 IM.
Esme Van Orden and Roebuck went first and second in the 200 freestyle. Yang and
Alden White went first and third in the 100 backstroke. Still, at the end of the session, the Ephs were 26 points behind.
On the final day, the Ephs fought hard in the morning to put together their best performances and set themselves up to finish at the top at night. Codd was second in the mile. White won the 200 backstroke and Yang took third. Phelps won the 100 freestyle. Doherty and Roebuck went second and third in the 200 breaststroke. And to wrap up the individual events, Codd won the 200 butterfly, with Farley finishing in third.
In addition to the top-three finishes, the Ephs did an exceptional job making it back at night and posting some incredible times. The Ephs raced hard to the wall with every opportunity they were handed, and every race contributed to the victory this weekend.
On the relay side of things, the Ephs came out swinging on Thursday evening, winning the 800 freestyle relay in both the championship and consolation finals. The 200 freestyle relays also both won, in addition to the 400 medley relays. The "A" 200 medley relay took third and the "B" tied for first in the consolation final. Finally, the 400 freestyle relays placed second.
This meet was close from start to finish, but in the end, the Eph women came out on top. In a few weeks, Loh will head to Regionals to compete for a NCAA spot. Several other Eph women will now turn their attention to NCAAs in several weeks from now to finish out the season.
