MEDFORD, Mass. – The Tufts University women's swimming and diving team competed in the first of three days at the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Friday at Williams College.
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| Amber Chong finished fourth in the one-meter dive tonight with a score 24 points better than her seed score |
The Jumbos finished the day in sixth place out of the 11 teams in attendance with a total team score of 351, which was 50 points ahead of seventh-place Middlebury. Williams is currently in first place with 687. Amherst and Connecticut College sit in second and third place with 617 and 456.5 points respectively.
In the morning, the teams competed in preliminary races with the top eight competitors qualifying for the finals. Nine through 16 would compete in a consolation final of the event. The top three finishers in each event will earn All-NESCAC honors.
Tufts qualified for four finals on the first day of competition. Jackie Crater, Colleen Doolan, Sasha Fong, and Anna Kimura all raced in two apiece. Two of those were relays. Two program records were also set.
In the 200 freestyle relay a team of Doolan, Fong, Sydney Nasson and Jess Lee finished in seventh with a time of 1:37.31 and collected 46 points for the Jumbos. Then in the 400 medley relay, Crater, Kimura, Fong, and Doolan combined for a 3:52.00, which was a program record, and 50 points. The previous Jumbo record of 3:53.79 was set in 2017 by Grace Goetcheus, Amanda Gottschalk, Doolan and Sophia Lin.
Kimura also finished sixth in the 200 IM with a time of 2:07.45 and grabbed 24 points. In diving, Amber Chong qualified for the final of the one-meter dive and finished in fourth with a 428.65 score for 26 points.
The Jumbos had some strong finishes in the consolation finals as well. Lily Kurtz finished first in the consolation final in the 50 breaststroke, ninth overall in the event, with a 30.54. Fong (25.47) and Lee (25.94) came in 10th and 11th respectively in the 50 butterfly with Fong's time setting a program record. The mark she broke - 25.50 by Mia Greenwald in 2012 - had stood for six years. Also today, Crater took 12th in the 50 backstroke with a 27.56.
The competition will continue tomorrow with preliminary races beginning at 10 a.m. and finals starting at 5:50 p.m.
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Written by Curtis Stoychoff, Athletic Communications Intern
