CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Tufts University women's swimming & diving team posted 10 top-nine finishes in the finals during second-day action at the MIT Invitational on Saturday, as the Jumbos are now in third place out of six teams at the three-day tournament in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Jumbos currently have 439 team points, which gives them a 72-point lead over fourth-place Wheaton College. The race for first place is highly contested, as MIT is in the top-slot with 977 points, but second-place New York University is right behind with 965 points.
The Jumbos received strong performances from many swimmers in the finals, as freshman Grace Goetcheus, senior captain Amanda Gottschalk, sophomore Colleen Doolan and senior captain Sophia Lin placed seventh overall in the finals of the 400-yard medley relay (4:02.09), earning 36 team points.
The Jumbos' "B" unit, consisting of junior Kelsey Gallagher, junior Meghan Casey, sophomore Alexandra Good and freshman Olivia Leoni, collected 32 points, by placing 11th overall with a time of 4:07.07 in the 400 medley relay.
The Jumbos' collected four top-15 finishes in the finals of the 200-yard butterfly, as Doolan placed eighth overall (2:11.65, 15 points), sophomore Madeline Lee placed 12th (2:21.35, 11 points), freshman Nicole Carzo placed 13th (2:21.58, nine points) and junior Eleanor Rimmerman placed 15th (2:22.64, six points).
Freshman Hannah Truslow continues to make an immediate impact during her rookie season, as the New Smyrna Beach, Florida, native placed 11th overall in the finals of the 200-yard freestyle (1:57.20, 12 points), while placing 16th in the finals of the 100-yard backstroke (1:00.99, five points). Truslow's time in the 200 freestyle was the best by any competitor in the "B" bracket, and it was also the ninth-best mark by any competitor in the final round but she placed 11th overall because of the grouping system.
Good finished 15th overall in the finals of the 200 freestyle (2:00.01, six points), while freshman Mackenzie Parmenter recorded an 18th-place finish (2:01.28, three points). Leoni posted the best time of any competitor in the "C" bracket during the 200 freestyle (2:00.25), as her time was good for the 16th best among all competitors but she was ranked No. 21 because of the grouping system. Sophomore Ailish Dougherty tallied a time of 2:05.53 in the finals of the 200 freestyle, while junior Caitlyn Leo posted a mark of 2:06.84.
Gottschalk, junior Jess Lee, sophomore Sydney Nasson and Lin formed the Jumbos' "A" team in the finals of the 200-yard freestyle relay, as the unit finished fifth overall (36 points) with a time of 1:40.09. Freshman Brooke Bernstein, Truslow, Good and Leoni posted a time of 1:41.59 in the 200 freestyle relay, as the group earned 30 points and placed eighth overall.
The squad boasted three top-13 finishes in the finals of the 400-yard individual medley, as Nasson placed sixth overall (4:40.61, 17 points), Gottschalk placed eighth (4:41.33, 15 points) and sophomore Tessa Garces placed 13th (4:52.38, nine points).
The Jumbos earned a crucial 24 points during the finals of the 100-yard breaststroke, with Casey placing ninth overall (14 points) with a time of 1:08.97. Freshman Katherine Brown tallied the 15th-best time in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.95, five points), but she checked in at the No. 16 slot due to the grouping system. Junior Lindsay Partin finished 18th overall in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.76, three points) and senior Sarah Elghor placed 19th (1:11.56, two points), while sophomore Jessica Fan and freshman Stephanie Pon recorded times of 1:13.74 and 1:15.08, respectively.
In the finals of the 100-yard backstroke, Goetcheus earned 15 points with an eighth-place finish (59.09), while Gallagher (14th, 1:00.67) and freshman Claire Kerns (18th, 1:01.59) combined for 10 team points. Sophomore Caroline McCormick clocked a time of 1:01.01 in the 100 backstroke, while junior Alli Dorneo touched the wall in a time of 1:03.40.
Lin led the charge in the finals of the 50-yard freestyle, as she finished ninth overall (25.08) and earned 14 team points. Lee tallied a 19th-place finish (25.61) and earned two team points in the finals of the 50 freestyle, while Bernstein recorded a time of 25.88.
Senior Kylie Reiman finished ninth overall in the finals of the 3-meter diving event (210.45) and earned 14 points, while freshman Taissa Gladkova tallied a mark of 148.85 and collected a handful of team points.
The Jumbos will compete in final-day action at the MIT Invitational on Sunday in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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