MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Sophomore Mary Hufziger won the conference 200 freestyle title with a school-record time as the Tufts University women's swimming & diving team competed on the third day of the 2020 NESCAC Championships at Middlebury College on Saturday.
In addition to breaking the Tufts record, Hufziger also set a new Middlebury Natatorium record with her 1:48.77 finish to win the 200 free. She broke her own record from last year and established an NCAA B cut. Tufts went 1-2 in the event, as freshman Claire Brennan was the runner-up with a 1:49.36 time. Brennan had originally broken the school record in the preliminaries earlier Saturday with her 1:49.92 mark. She also registers a NCAA B time.
Records were set in three events, the Jumbos earned three top-three finishes and eight NCAA B marks were swam during Saturday's racing. Tufts remained in second place, now with a score of 1,141.5 points. Williams College leads the meet with 1,372.5 heading into the final day. Amherst is third at 979 and Bates is fourth (887).
Junior Abby Claus broke her own 400 individual medley record twice on Saturday. She did it with a 4:27.00 in the preliminaries and then lowered it to 4:25.50 for third place in the finals. She was one of three Jumbos to post NCAA B times in the event as freshman Chloe Deveney placed fourth with a 4:26.33 finish and senior tri-captain Grace Goetcheus was seventh in a 4:29.62 touch.
The Tufts 200 medley relay opened the evening session with a 1:43.85 school record and NCAA B cut. The Jumbo foursome was sophomore Emma Donchi, junior Lily Kurtz, junior Sasha Fong and freshman Elle Morse. They scored fourth at the meet.
Four Jumbos scored in the top 13 of the 100 butterfly, led by junior Amy Socha's 55.50 time. She and freshman Camille Ross, who was 10th in 56.61, hit NCAA B marks in the event. Ross' faster time of 56.45 came in the prelims.
Junior Sook-Hee Evans placed fifth in the 1,000 freestyle (10:24.13) and Kurtz led three Tufts finishers among the top 16 in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:04.83 for seventh place. Donchi was the top Tufts scorer in the 100 backstroke timing 58.16 seconds in the finals for 13th place.
Through Saturday, Tufts has nine top-three finishes, the team has established new records in nine events, and 23 NCAA B marks have been reached.
The final day of the conference championship on Sunday starts with 10 am preliminaries. Sunday's finals begin at 5:30 pm.
