Jan 11, 2014
In what has to be one of the most exciting rivalries of Division III swimming, the Ephs of Williams College faced off against the Jeffs of Amherst on Saturday night. After a close start and some back and forth, Williams was victorious taking the meet 189-104.
The Amherst team of Sabrina Lee, Emily Hyde, Sarah Conklin and Lulu Belak outtouched the Williams team to begin the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay, 1:47.17 to 1:47.35. (Score: 11-6, Amherst.)
Williams freshman Megan Pierce made a statement in her 1000 immediately thereafter, storming the victory by more than 26 seconds to finish in 10:20.35. Charlotte Chudy of Amherst was second in 10:46.57, and Audrey Ingerson also of Amherst was third (10:49.82). (Score: 20-16, Amherst.)
Sarah Thompson and Lauren Jones of Williams went 1-2 in the 200 freestyle, finishing in 1:52.13 and 1:53.43, respectively. Amherst’s Belak was third (1:56.71). (Score: 29-26, Williams.)
The 100 backstroke went to Amherst’s Lee (58.56). Second and third went to Williams – Olivia Jackson (58.81) and Katherine Bennett (58.85). (Score: 38-36, Williams.)
Hyde of Amherst won the 100 breaststroke on the strength of her back half, touching in at 1:06.24. Williams swimmers Breanna Nguyen and Olivia Clark were second and third in 1:07.62 and 1:08.21, respectively. (Score: 47-46, Amherst.)
In the 200 butterfly, Pierce returned to shine, claiming the victory in Todhunter-esque fashion, touching in more than four seconds ahead of her next closest competitor to finish at 2:05.09. (As a small note, that dual meet swim – presumably done in a practice suit – puts Pierce top eight in DIII so far this year, including times swum in tech suits from rested midseason meets.) Third place went to Williams teammate Paige Haller (2:09.97)while Amherst’s Conklin was second (2:09.31). (Score: 60-52, Williams.)
The 50 freestyle went to Faye Sultan of Williams (24.51), and teammate Emma Nuzzo was third (25.27). Amherst’s Ashleigh Stoddart was second, collecting runner up honors in 24.73. (Score: 73-58, Williams.)
In the diving events, Williams enjoyed a distinct advantage of being the only team with divers, and not just one, but three. Michelle Higgins, McKenzie Murdoch and Ari Ross went 1-2-3 on one meter, scoring 284.10, 269.55 and 246.68, to add 16 points to Williams’ total score. (Score: 89-58, Williams.)
Sultan and Thompson returned to the water after diving to take first and seconds for the Ephs, going 53.02 and 53.23, respectively. Belak was third for Amherst, touching in at 54.09. (Score: 104-62, Williams.)
Williams dominated the 200 backstroke, with three entries to Amherst’s one. Bennett claimed victory for the Ephs, touching in at 2:05.49. Teammate Jackson was third in 2:07.17 while Lee took runner up for the Jeffs in 2:06.51. (Score: 118-68, Williams.)
The 200 breaststroke went to Amherst. Hyde won by almost two full seconds, finishing at 2:23.67. Teammate Abby Hahn was third in 2:27.08. Williams’ Nguyen was second (2:25.53). (Score: 124-81, Williams.)
Thomspon and Jones went 1-2 again in the 500 freestyle, finishing at 5:03.39 and 5:04.07, respectively. Chudy of Amherst took third in 5:16.85. (Score: 137-87, Williams.)
Conklin of Amherst took the victory in the 100 butterfly, touching in at 58.40. Alyssa Levine and Maddy Holker of Williams were second and third at 59.59 and 59.75, respectively. (Score: 146-91, Williams.)
In the second round of diving – three meter this time – Murdoch was the winner, followed by Higgins, and then Ross. Scores were: 281.63, 271.65 and 255.45, for another 16 points to add to William’s total. (Score: 162-91, Williams.)
In the 200 IM, Pierce took home her final event win of the day, clocking in at a 2:07.64 – nearly three seconds ahead of Amherst’s Hyde (2:10.39). Bennett was third in 2:12.31 for the Ephs. (Score: 176-96, Williams.)
In the final event of the day, Williams’ relay team of Jones, Sultan, Nguyen and Thomson dominated, finishing with a time of 3:33.24. Amherst’s relay was about four second behind, finishing at 3:37.64. (Final score: 189-104, Williams.)
For complete meet results, click here. Amherst returns to the water on January 25th at MIT. Williams will be back in action January 18th, racing Conn College at Wesleyan.
Pierce is the real deal! She beat three different defending NESCAC conference champions in their premier events and her closest race was three seconds. Not too many folks swim a non-tapered B cut time in the 200IM within an hour of swimming the 1000 and the 200 fly. Sultan was also great in the sprints for the Ephs. Amherst held back in the dual meet last year and came hard at the Conference Champs so look for a really fast meet at Champs!
The men’s meet was real drama — down to the last relay!
Megan Pierce has been competitive since day one – says her Grandfather
I believe she’ll be a lot of fun to watch come championship time. Williams has a definite knack of turning out some super studs in distance and the fly events. It’ll be interesting to see what she ends up racing – mile and 200 fly are on the same day at NESCACs, right?