Williams and Tufts in Tight Battle Through Day 2 of Women’s NESCACs

2022 Women’s NESCAC Championships

• February 10-13, 2022
• Colby College, Waterville, ME
• Defending Champs: Williams
• Live Results

The NESCAC is known for its depth, as based on the most recent CSCAA poll, the conference is home to four teams in the top 25. Those teams include Tufts (6), Williams (10), Bates (13), and Amherst (21). So far, the meet has been a tight battle between Tufts and Williams at the top. 

The 2022 NESCAC Women’s Championships kicked off on Thursday night with Tufts winning the 800 freestyle relay in a time of 7:18.26. That time broke the meet record of 7:20.76 which Williams set in 2020. Senior Mary Hufziger had the fastest split in the field as she anchored for Tufts in a time of 1:48.54. 

200 freestyle relay

1. Tufts (1:31.91)
2. Williams (1:33.61)
3. Bowdoin (1:33.85)

Tufts continued their success into day 2 as they kicked off the night with a win in the 200 freestyle relay. They set pool, NESCAC, and meet records in the process as well. They were the only team in the field to have two swimmers split under 23 seconds as their second swimmer split a 22.92 and their anchor split a 22.77.

50 breaststroke

1. Abigail Gibbons, Bates (28.81)
2. Amanda Wager, Williams (28.96) 
3. Emilie Grand’Pierre, Bowdoin (29.28)

Gibbons swam to a first place finish in the 50 breaststroke in a time of 28.81. Williams earned 2nd (Wager) and 4th (Wishnack) place finishes. 

50 butterfly 

1. Samantha Kilcoyne, Williams (24.56)
2. Tatum Zupnik, Bowdoin (24.95)
3. Mary Laurita, Tufts (25.25)

Kilcoyne swam to a win for Williams after being the top seed going into finals. She set a pool record in the process as well.

500 freestyle

1. Lillie Bushway, Williams (4:54.94)
2. Grace Wenger, Bates (4:55.05)
3. Katelin Isakoff, Tufts (4:55.31)

Bushway earned Williams back to back wins as she swam her way to the win and pool record. This event was the closest of the night as 1st-5th were all within 0.45 seconds of each other. The whole ‘A’ final all swam NCAA Division III ‘B’ cuts. 

50 backstroke

1. Ella Martin, Bowdoin (25.70)
2. Sophie Cassily, Bates (26.03)
3. Molly Arts, Williams (26.28)

Martin set the meet, pool, and NESCAC record in the event swimming a 25.33 in prelims. She was just off of her time in finals but still managed to get the win for Bowdoin. Williams had two girls in the ‘A’ final whereas Tufts had none. 

200 IM

1.  Molly Craig, Williams (2:01.60)
2.  Sophia Verkleeren, Williams (2:02.33)
3.  Abby Claus, Tufts (2:04.34)

Williams had a key 1-2 finish here from Craig and Verkleeren. Craig also set a pool record as she earned the win.

50 freestyle

1. Ella Riccio, Bowdoin (23.07)
2. Jillian Cudney, Tufts (23.16)
3. Ann Tolan, Colby (23.20)

Riccio was just off of her prelims time of 23.04 but she still picked up the win for Bowdoin as she finished in a 23.07. Teammate Tatum Zupnik also finished fifth for Bowdoin in a time of 23.49. 

1 meter diving

1. Hannah Karlin, Amherst (455.30)
2. Sydney Bluestein, Amherst (441.45)
3. Eleanor McGrath, Colby (434.60)

Amherst picked up their first win of the meet as senior Karlin won the 1 meter diving. Amherst also showed their ability to continue their strength in the event for the next few years as Bluestein is just a freshman. 

400 medley relay

1. Williams (3:41.41)
2. Tufts (3:46.45)
3. Bowdoin (3:47.25)

Williams dominated the relay winning right from the start as freshman Verkleeren swam a 55.10 on the backstroke leg. Their middle two legs made huge impacts as both were the fastest in the field by over a second and a half. 

Team Scores through Day 2

1. Tufts University                  722   
2. Williams College                703.5
3. Amherst College                   516   
4. Bowdoin College                 422.5
5. Middlebury College                412  
6. Bates College                     380
7. Connecticut College               330   
8. Colby College                   300.5
9. Wesleyan University             294.5  
10. Trinity College                   253
11. Hamilton College                  229