WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College swimming & diving won most of its events and held a commanding lead after the first day of the two-day Wellesley Invitational at Chandler Pool.
The Blue lead the five-team field with 974 points. Smith College sits in second with 688. Mount Holyoke College (541.5), Westfield State University (308) and Simmons University (219.5) round out the competition.
Senior Kavita Sekhon (Los Angeles, Calif.) set a meet record and broke her own program-record in the 50 Breaststroke race, completing the race in 29.19 seconds. First-years Lana Richard (Oakland, Calif.) (31.30) and Jessica Zhao (Beijing, China) (33.12) earned second and third in the event.
Sekhon also won the 100 Breaststroke with ease, over four seconds ahead of the competition at 1:04.43. Richard finished in second place at 1:08.62.
First-year Lucy Choe (Ellicott City, Md.) was .04 off of a program-record in the 50 Fly, topping the competition with a time of 26.03. Senior Tracey Liu (Princeton, N.J.) scored silver at 26.75 while junior Chelsea Park (Long Beach, Calif.) (28.28) and first-year Margaret Lockman (Princeton Junction, N.J.) (28.91) placed fifth and sixth respectively.
Choe's great day continued in a 100 Fly championship performance, with a winning 57.98 mark.
Liu and first-years Alexis Kung (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) were the top two finishers in the 50 Back. Liu earned a winning time of 27.02 while Kung was just behind at 27.29. Sophomore Lily Fender (Burnsville, N.C.) (28.06), Choe (28.14) and first-year Sophia Owen (Honolulu, Hawaii) (28.32) went 3-4-5 in the race.
Kung (59.05), Fender (59.80), Liu (1:00.51) and Owen (1:02.25) held the top four slots on the leaderboard in the 100 Back race.
Kung and Zhao collected gold and silver in the 50 Free. Kung's time of 24.88 topped the leaderboard while Zhao hit the wall at 25.54.
Richard clinched the No. 1 spot in the 200 IM with a 2:13.08 showing. Sekhon snatched bronze with a time of 2:15.04.
First-year Hannah Machleidt (Middleton, Wis.) was the 500 Free champion, coming in at 5:20.07. Reich finished sixth at 5:35.65 while Lockman won the second heat with a time of 5:41.38. Machleidt added a 400 IM win in the evening, racing in at 4:41.99.
First-year Jolyn Zheng (Irvine, Calif.) grabbed 200 Free gold, racing to a 1:59.07 time.
Senior Elsa Marsden (Vienna, Va.) claimed second in 1-Meter Diving. Marsden's 429.20 11-dive score earns an NCAA Diving Regional cut.
The Blue took the top two spots in the 200 Free Relay. Kung, Adilene Dela Cruz (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), and Sekhon and Liu finished first at 1:41.33. Machleidt, Fender, Zhao and senior Julia Reich (Bronxville, N.Y.) claimed second place with a 1:42.55 time.
Wellesley ended the morning session with Liu, Sekhon, Choe and Zheng swimming a 3:56.15 to win the 400 Medley Relay.
Liu, Sekhon, Choe and Kung came within a second of an NCAA "B" cut, winning the 200 Medley Relay with a 1:44.86 showing.
Machleidt, Fender, Richard and Zheng closed the day out with a top-time of 7:56.82 in the 800 Free Relay.
Day two of the Invitational commences with 3-Meter Diving tomorrow at 10:30 AM.
