NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Wellesley College swimming & diving leads after day one of the 2019 Seven Sisters Swimming & Diving Championship, hosted this year by Smith College at Dalton Pool. The Blue will be seeking to win the program's 22nd consecutive title during the final session of competition on Sunday morning.
Wellesley is in first place with 954.5 points through 13 events. Vassar College trails the Blue in second with 678.5 points. Smith College is third with 296 points, followed by Mount Holyoke College in fourth with 287 points, and Bryn Mawr in fifth with 222 points. Wellesley's depth was on display throughout the earned, as the Blue earned only a pair of event victories in the morning but had a 98-point lead over second place Vassar at the end of the session. The Blue also added two victories in the afternoon but continued to expand their lead at the top of the standings.
Wellesley opened Saturday with an All-Seven Sisters time in the 200 Free Relay, as first year Jessica Wegner (Taipei, Taiwan), junior Kayleigh Svensson (Palo Alto, Calif.), sophomore Margaret Harrigan (Chatham, N.J.), and first year Peyton Wang (Palo Alto, Calif.) took first with a time of 1:40.80. Senior Crystal Zhu (Chelmsford, Mass.), first year Allie Chiou, and seniors Francesca Dong (Princeton Junction, N.J.) and Jessie Feng (Princeton, N.J.) took third in the event in 1:44.38, earning the team valuable points.
In the 500 Free, sophomore Hannah May (Cincinnati, Ohio) earned a runner-up time of 5:17.15, trailing only Jesse Eklund of Vassar. Eklund earned All-Seven Sisters honors in 5:10.19. Wellesley countered the Brewers with a 1-2 sweep of the top two spots in the 200 IM, where senior Sunny Chiang (Troy, Mich.) earned All-Seven Sisters accolades for the fourth year in-a-row with a time of 2:13.58. Wegner followed in second (2:14.22) for the Blue.
Vassar earned wins in the morning's final two events, the 50 Free and the 400 Medley Relay, but Wellesley dominated the top-five of the 50 Free and finished with third and fourth place times in the 400 Medley Relay to add to the team's lead. Vassar's Brynn Lautenbacher took the 50 Free sprint in 24.72, only to be followed by four straight Wellesley competitors, as Wang (25.23) took second, Svensson (25.36) was third, May (25.65) finished fourth, and Zhu (25.87) followed in fifth.
Vassar concluded the morning with a Seven Sisters record time in the 400 Medley Relay, sweeping the top-two times with times of 3:58.36 and 4:05.67. Svensson, junior Danielle Peterson (Livingston, N.J.), Wegner, and May were third (4:06.71) and Chiang, sophomore Jessica Wu (Palo Alto, Calif.), Feng and Harrigan were fourth (4:13.33) for Wellesley.
Wellesley divers Ingrid Henderson (Berkeley, Calif.) and Emma Roberts (Boxford, Mass.) finished fifth and sixth on the 1-meter board, earning the Blue 27 points in the event. Henderson and Roberts return tomorrow for the 3-meter diving at 9:30 AM.
The Blue and the Brewers continued to dual throughout the afternoon, where Vassar finished first in five of the seven but the Blue dominated the standings to increase their lead in the team score. Wellesley added four runner-up finishes in the: 200 Medley Relay, 100 Fly, 100 Breaststroke, and 100 Back.
The Blue took first in the 200 Free, as May returned to post a time of 1:55.81. Wellesley earned four of the top five spots in the event behind May. Peterson was third (1:59.37), while Feng took fourth (2:00.26), and Wang was fifth (2:00.26). The Blue closed out Saturday with a victory in the 800 Free Relay, where Peterson, Chiang, Feng, and May set a Seven Sisters record with a time of 7:55.90.
Sunday's action at the Seven Sisters Championship begins with 3-meter diving at 9:30 AM and continues with the final session of swimming at 12:30 PM.
