WELLESLEY, Mass. – No. 9 regionally ranked Coast Guard Academy won a competitive 170-121 meet with Wellesley College swimming & diving in a clash of undefeated squads on Friday night at Chandler Pool. The Bears improve to 7-0 on the year while Wellesley now sits at 4-1.
Seniors Tracey Liu (Princeton, N.J.), Kavita Sekhon (Los Angeles, Calif.) and first-years Lucy Choe (Ellicott City, Md.) and Alexis Kung (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) opened the meet with a 1:47.59 time in the 200 Medley Relay to take gold in the event. Sophomore Lily Fender (Burnsville, N.C.), first-years Lana Richard (Oakland, Calif.), Margaret Lockman (Princeton Junction, N.J.) and Adilene Dela Cruz (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) came in third in the race at 1:53.71.
In the 1000 Free, senior Julia Reich (Bronxville, N.Y.) and Leah Butler (Eugene, Ore.) finished 4-5. Reich clock in at 12:07.38 while Butler hit the wall at 12:20.91.
Richard went stroke for stroke with Coast Guard in the 200 Free. The Wellesley first-year out-touched the Bears by .02 with a winning time of 1:58.95.
The Blue also topped the 100 Back race, with reigning NEWMAC Swimmer of the Week Kung leading the field at 57.97. Liu took fourth in the event at 1:01.37. Kung later swam a 25.27 to finish in the third spot of the 50 Free. In the back half of the meet, Kung added a first place finish in the 200 Back to the day, registering a 2:06.54.
Wellesley's winning ways continued in the 100 Breaststroke, with Sekhon cruising to a victory at 1:05.64. First-year Jessica Zhao (Beijing, China) came in fourth, with a final time of 1:13.21.
Sekhon and Richard were top two performers in the 200 Breast. Sekhon blazed the trail at 2:27.09 while Richard was just behind at 2:28.06. Richard tacked on a second place showing in the 200 IM, putting together a 2:12.46 that was within .3 of the leader.
Senior Elsa Marsden (Vienna, Va.) championed the 1-Meter Diving event, leading the field with a six dive score of 230.18. Junior Grace Qiu (Concord, N.H.) (96.90) and first-year Vicki Huang (San Diego, Calif.) (84.08) also competed in diving.
Coast Guard took first and second in the 200 Fly. First-year Jolyn Zheng (Irvine, Calif.) earned bronze in the race, coming in at 2:19.60. Zheng found gold in the 100 Free, pacing the competitive field with a 55.28 time.
In the 100 Fly, Choe and Zheng both reached the podium, capturing second and third. Choe was the runner-up at 1:00.85. Zheng placed third at 1:02.65.
Zhao, Fender, Dela Cruz and Zheng concluded the evening in second place in the 200 Free Relay, clocking in at 3:46.19.
Both teams compete away from home on Saturday, November 22. Wellesley competes at Mount Holyoke College while Coast Guard takes on Brandeis University.
