WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley College swimming and diving held off a late push from visiting Simmons University to earn a 165-135 victory in a non-conference dual meet on Saturday at Chandler Pool. Wellesley is now 2-0 in dual meets, while the Sharks drop to 3-1 overall.
A 1-2 Simmons sweep of the top-two spots in the 500 Free, from junior Aine Scholand (Albuquerque, N.M.) and senior Laura Simpson, cut the Wellesley lead to four, 115-11, after the 12th event, but the Blue were able to secure enough points over the final four events to hold off the Simmons surge.
Wellesley countered in the 13th event, earning a 1-2 finish in the 100 Fly behind a first place time of 59.02 from first year Jessica Wegner (Taipei, Taiwan) and a runner-up time of 1:00.17 from junior Maggie Haley (Shady Side, Md.). Wegner earned three individual victories on the afternoon, as she tied for first place (25.84) in the 50 Free with teammate Margaret Harrigan (Chatham, N.J.) and added a first place time in the 200 IM in 2:15.15.
Wegner and classmate Shelby Ripp (St. Louis, Mo.) finished 1-2 in the 200 IM, as Ripp recorded a time of 2:16.61. The Blue went on to take first in the final event, the 400 Free Relay, with junior Danielle Peterson (Livingston, N.J.), Harrigan, first year Peyton Wang (Palo Alto, Calif.), and sophomore Hannah May (Cincinnati, Ohio) finishing in the top-time of 3:41.67 to clinch the 165-135 Wellesley win.
May also added wins in the 100 and 200 Free during the meet. May and Wang took the top-two spots in the 100, with May finishing just ahead of her teammate's time of 55.54 with a mark of 55.50. In the 200, May edged out senior Kerry Fleming (Northampton, Mass.), 1:59.48 and 1:59.99. Wellesley also got a 1-2 finish in the 200 Fly, as senior Jessie Feng (Princeton, N.J.) and Haley finished with times of 2:17.91 and 2:21.27, respectively.
Scholand matched Wegner with three event wins for the Sharks. Scholand and Simpson finished with times of 5:21.60 and 5:26.31, respectively, in the 500 free. The Simmons duo also swept the 1000 Free, with Scholand taking first (11:02.40) and Simpson second (11:08.51). Scholand followed her 1000 Free victory with a first place time of 1:02.47 in the 100 Back, narrowly defeating Wang, who finished in 1:02.61 for the Blue.
Wang, Peterson, Wegner, and Harrigan opened the meet with a Wellesley victory in the 200 Medley Relay, finishing with a time of 1:53.10 to best the top Simmons time of 1:55.97 from the team of senior Jason Erichsen (Banks, Ore.), sophomore Elizabeth Bartlett (Richmond, Mass.), first year Sarah Singleton (Mission Hills, Calif.), and Fleming.
Erichsen went on to win a pair of individual events for the Sharks, taking first in the 100 Breast (1:10.94) and the 200 Breast (2:33.88). Fleming was the winner in the 200 Back, leading a 1-2 Simmons finish with a time of 2:11.49. Singleton took second in 2:15.15.
In diving, Simmons sophomore Sara Manjikian (Belmont, Mass.) won both the 1 and 3-meter events. Wellesley senior Ingrid Henderson (Berkeley, Calif.) scored 210.00 in 1-meter and 188.25 in 3-meter, while first year Emma Roberts (Boxford, Mass.) scored 175.90 in 1-meter and 188.55 on the 3-meter board.
Wellesley returns to Chandler Pool next Saturday, November 17, when the Blue host Seven Sisters rival Mount Holyoke at 1:00 PM. Simmons returns to action next Saturday when they host UNE at 1:00 PM.
