NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Wellesley College set three records en route to a dominating first day of the 2012 Seven Sisters Swimming and Diving Championship on Saturday. The Blue won six of 13 events for 802 points, followed by Vassar with 553, Mount Holyoke with 435, Smith with 346 and Bryn Mawr College with 289.

Wellesley's Keelin Nave set a new Seven Sisters Record in the 100 butterfly, finishing in 59.21, beating a 28 year old record held by Maureen McMahon of Smith, set in 1984.  The Blue's 800 freestyle relay team of Anne Hamilton, Olivia Hulme, Stephanie Welch, and Nave set both a new meet and Dalton Pool record with a time of 8:08.95, smashing the five year old mark of 8:15.41 set by Wellesley. In diving, Hayley Goydan set a new Seven Sisters mark with a score of 439.50 on the 1-meter board, also hitting an NCAA consideration score. Finally, the Blue also set a new pool record in the 400 medley relay with a mark of 4:10.89, beating a 16 year old record held by Springfield College in 1996. 

Wellesley got a 1-2 finish from Nave (5:11.37) and Grace Bachman (5:26.49) in the 500 yard freestyle.  The Blue also picked up a win in the 400 yard medley relay, with Emma Mrkonic, Hamilton, Nave, and Gates finished in 4:10.89, ahead of Vassar's Olivia Harries, Caroline Shannon, Sydnie Alquist, and Robin Lam. Elsewhere in diving, Gabby Cooper-Vespa took third on the 1-meter board, scoring 368.85.  Rounding out the top finishes for Wellesley, Mrkonic finished first in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:02.20. 

For Vassar, Caroline Shannon picked up a victory in the 200 yard IM, finishing in 2:14.58, while Alison Burns, Robin Lam, Lizzy Balter, and Shannon Sara captured third place in the 200 yard freestyle relay in 1:45.12.  Shannon also finished first in the 400 yard IM, turning in a dominating 4:45.01 time, and was part of the third placed 200 yard medley relay group with Balter, Lam, and Sydnie Alquist in 1:58.62.

The host Pioneers got a second place finish from Jenika Parson in the 1-meter dive. Parson scored 433.40, hitting the NCAA qualification score for the second consecutive meet.  Mackenzie Bradley finished third in the 500 yard freestyle, less than half a second out of second place in 5:26.95.  Alyssa Pascuzzo also posted a third place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:19.05.  Pascuzzo also posted a third place finish in the 100 fly, in 1:02.76.

Mount Holyoke got a thrilling with in the 200 yard freestyle relay, as the foursome of Lauren Williams, Rachel Boynton, Maya Lazarovich, and Lydia Bowers touched the wall in 1:44.05, just ahead of Wellesley's Bachman, Megan Lambert, Monica Gates, and Mariam Amirkhanashvili, who came in second in 1:44.37.  Bowers also posted a win in the 50 yard freestyle, finishing in 25.23, just ahead of teammate Williams, who came in 26.01.  The Lyons also took home top honors in the 200 yard medley relay, beating Wellesley in an extremely close finish.  Williams, Lazarovich, Bowers, and Joselyn Auxer won by .07 seconds, coming in 1:57.05. 

Bowers added to Mount Holyoke's total with a win in the 200 yard freestyle, finishing in 2:00.73, while Lazarovich (1:11.18) edged out Caroline Shannon of Vassar in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:11.52).

Bryn Mawr got a fourth place finish from Meredith Davis in the 50 yard freestyle, in 26.17, and the Owls also came in fourth in the 200 yard freestyle relay.  Davis joined up with Zoe Guastella, Kristina Xiang, and Judy Yueng to finish in 1:46.46.


Marly Pineda Seven Sisters Award

At the banquet, a new award was unveiled, to honor Marly Pineda '08 (M.S. '10), a former Smith swimmer and coach who passed away in 2010. The Marly Pineda Seven Sisters Swiming and Diving Award is given to the swimmer or diver who, over the course of her career at the Seven Sisters Championships, best exemplifies the dedication, passion, selflessness, sportsmanship, and spirit of a champion that defined Marly.  Each honoree will also be known for her positive attitude, comittment toward making everyone around her feel welcomed and supported, and her "never ever" give up spirit.  The 2012 award went to Smith Colege senior Jenny Prince.  The award was also backdated, given to members of the classes of 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 who had a chance to compete with and against Marly from each of the five schools.

Hilary Gram '10	Katie Guynn '09	Kate Sorenson '09