CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Senior Jessica Wegner (Taipei, Taiwan) set a new Wellesley swimming & diving program record in the 200 IM on day two of the 2022 New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Swimming & Diving Championships on Friday at MIT's Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center Pool.
Host MIT leads the team standings with 526 points. The Engineers are currently followed by Wheaton in second place with 342, Coast Guard in third with 251, then Springfield with 229, WPI with 227, Wellesley with 189, and Mount Holyoke with 149. Smith (129), Babson (124), and Clark (106) hold eight, ninth, and tenth, respectively.
The Blue opened Friday's evening session with a seventh place finish in the 200 Free Relay, where Wellesley's A Relay of sophomore Mellany Smith (West Orange, N.J.), first year Angela Zhu (Bayside, N.Y.), senior Paulina Gonzalez (Caracas, Venezuela), and senior Marisa Papagelis (Westborough, Mass.) combined for a time of 1:40.76. Wellesley's B Relay of sophomore Mira Tang (Mercer Island, Wash.), first year Maya Hart (Menlo Park, Calif.), junior Elizabeth Park (Dix Hills, N.Y.), and JJ Kim (New Haven, Conn.) added a 16th place finish, taking sixth in the B Final in 1:41.81.
Wegner set a new program record in the 200 IM to top her own mark of 2:09.25 set at the 2020 NEWMAC Championships with a time of 2:08.31 during the finals to earn sixth place. Wegner entered Friday's A Final with the seventh best time in the 200 IM prelims with a time of 2:08.98. Sophomore McKaela Glanville (Menlo Park, Calif.) helped the Blue earn two of the top-ten spots in the 200 IM, taking eighth place with a time of 2:09.22. First year Eva McNally (Shorewood, Wisc.) also competed in the finals and posted a time of 2:17.52.
In the 500 Free, first year Cecilia Cai (Palo Alto, Calif.) took 14th with a time of 5:10.83 after advancing in the prelims (5:14.31). Junior Lily Duff (Scituate, Mass.) was the top Wellesley finisher in 1-meter diving, finishing in 12th place with a score of 310 in the finals.
Ariana Mitsuoka (Centennial, Co.) earned a spot in the finals in the 50 free after swimming a 24.69 in the prelims. The sophomore took 14th place overall with a time of 24.77.
Wellesley's A Relay placed fifth in the 400 Medley Relay with the team of Tang, Mitsuoka, Wegner, and Glanville with an impressive time of 3:56.94. The B Relay of Cai, Hart, Zhu, and Gonzalez placed 15th overall with a combined time of 4:02.50.
Competition resumes Saturday, February 19, at 10:00 AM with the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, and 200 Medley Relay prelims. Saturday's Finals will take place at 6:00 PM.
