CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Wellesley College swimming & diving finished third out of 10 teams at the 2026 NEWMAC Championships on Sunday, wrapping up a fantastic showing at MIT's Zesiger Center Pool. The third place finish is Wellesley's best performance since 2015-16.

MIT won the team competition with 1632.5 points. Coast Guard Academy took silver with 750 points while the Blue (651.5) claimed bronze. Babson College (530), WPI (515), Smith College (492), Wheaton College (480), Springfield College (363), Clark University (223) and Mount Holyoke College (168) rounded out the field.

Senior Kavita Sekhon (Los Angeles, Calif.) wrapped up a great weekend by taking fourth place in 200 Breaststroke with a 2:23.21 time. First-year Lana Richard (Oakland, Calif.) was only one spot behind in fifth at 2:24.50.

First-year Alexis Kung (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) and sophomore Lily Fender (Burnsville, N.C.) finished sixth and seventh in the 200 Back respectively. Kung had a time of 2:06.76 while Fender finished at 2:07.12. First-year Sophia Owen (Honolulu, Hawaii) (12th - 2:13.02), senior Tracey Liu (Princeton, N.J.) (13th - 2:13.53) and first-year Lucy Choe (Ellicott City, Md.) (15th - 2:13.90) all had top-15 finishes in the event.

First-year Hannah Machleidt (Middleton, Wis.) captured ninth with a 18:36.68 time in the 1650 Free. Senior Leah Butler (Eugene, Ore.) (22nd - 19:47.97) set a personal-best mark in the event.

In the 100 Free, first-year Jolyn Zheng (Irvine, Calif.) tied for 12th place, touching the wall at 54.21. Classmate Jessica Zhao (Beijing, China) also had a top-20 finish, clocking in at 54.91. 

First-year Margaret Lockman (Princeton Junction, N.J.) was the Blue's top finisher in the 200 Fly, dropping nearly seven seconds from the seeding time and completing the race at 2:16.68.

Senior Elsa Marsden (Vienna, Va.) claimed 10th in 3-Meter Diving, scoring 371.70 points in the 11-dive format.

Wellesley ended the day by taking fifth in the 400 Free Relay. Choe, Zheng, Richard and Fender's time of 3:37.12, a season-best time.

Next up, Marsden will compete in NCAA Diving Regionals at Connecticut College on February 27-28.