HARTFORD, Conn. -- Wellesley College swimming & diving defeated host Trinity College, 173-114, but fell to Connecticut College, 226-65, and New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Wheaton College, 165-133, in a quad-dual meet on Saturday afternoon at the Trinity Natatorium.
Wellesley put together 17 top-five finishes, including six in diving, at the meet. Junior diver Maura Sticco-Ivins (Framingham, Mass.) led the way for the Blue with a pair of first places finishes, winning the 1-meter competition with a score of 297.60 and the 3-meter with a mark of 311.25.
Senior Maddie Stern (Phoenix, Ariz.) helped the Blue to a one-two sweep on the 3-meter board, registering a collegiate-best six-dive score of 284.77. Stern also added a third place finish on the 1-meter board (297.60), as both Sticco-Ivins and Stern registered NCAA Regional qualifying scores. Sophomore Ingrid Henderson (Berkley, Calif.) added a fifth place finish in both the 1-meter (175.65) and 3-meter (179.62) events.
NEWMAC Swimmer of the Week Cathy Chen (Parsippany, N.J.) opened the day alongside first year Danielle Peterson (Livingston, N.J.) and sophomores Karen Wang (Holmdel, N.J.) and Sunny Chiang (Troy, Mich.) in the 200 Medley Relay, helping the Blue to a fourth place finish in 1:54.34.
Wang went on to add a top-five time in the 100 Yard Butterfly later in the day, taking fourth in 1:01.35, while Chiang and Peterson joined sophomore Jessie Feng (Princeton, N.J.) in the 200 Yard Freestyle, where the Blue captured three of the top-five spots with a trio of competitive times. Feng took third in 2:02.74, Chiang was fourth in 2:02.94 and Peterson was fifth in 2:03.59. Feng also earned a top-five time in the 500 Yard Freestyle in 5:30.18.
Junior Lindsey Wu (Livingston, N.J.) added the next top-five time for the Blue. Wu finished just ahead of Cathy Chen in the 100 Yard Backstroke, as the teammates finished with times of 1:12.06 and 1:12.35. The time would be the first of three top-five performances for Wu, who would later take fourth in 200 Yard Breaststroke in 2:34.00 and in the 200 Yard IM in 2:20.27.
Other top-five finishes included first years Kayleigh Svensson (Palo Alto, Calif.) in the 100 Yard Freestyle (11:34.60) and Maggie Haley's (Shady Side, Md.) fifth place time in the 200 Yard Butterfly (2:20.80).
Wellesley will now turn to the 2017 NEWMAC Championships, Thursday to Sunday, February 16-19 at WPI's Sports & Recreation Center.
