BRUNSWICK, ME (February 11, 2023) – In another outstanding day at the 2023 NESCAC Championships, the Tufts University women's swimming & diving team won three events, broke records in four events and added to their lead in the team scoring on Saturday at Bowdoin College.
Head coach
Adam Hoyt's Jumbos now have a team score of 1414.5 points, 221 ahead of second-place Williams College (1193.5). Amherst College (845) and Bowdoin College (831) are third and fourth, respectively.
Tufts will take its lead into the final day of the Championships on Sunday. The Jumbos are attempting to win their second consecutive NESCAC title.
First-year
Madeleine Dunn started Saturday evening's session with perhaps the finest Jumbo effort at the meet so far. Her 10:00.90 time to win the 1000 freestyle race was a NESCAC meet record, a school record and a Bowdoin pool record. She smashed the previous Tufts mark of 10:12.73, and lowered the 12-year old meet record that was 10:02.82. Dunn, who won the 500 freestyle on Friday, gives Tufts its first championship win in the 1000 free since Maureen Monahan in 1988. Jumbos
Allison Cremer in fifth place (10:22.38) and
Sahar Mumtaz in sixth (10:22.41) added to the Tufts' strong scoring in the evening's opening event.
Lily Klinginsmith then delivered another tremendous effort by a Tufts first-year in the 100 butterfly. She had broke her own school record in the event with a 54.57 in the preliminaries. In the final tonight, she lowered her record to 53.56 to win the event with a mark that was also a pool record and NCAA 'B' cut. She's the Jumbos' first-ever NESCAC or New England champion in the 100 fly. First-year Jade Folteny also had an NCAA 'B' mark of 56.14 for fourth place in the final, while
Esme Blackstock placed seventh with a time of 56.70 seconds.
Lara Wujciak added a 13th in 57.47 seconds.
Four Jumbos were among the top nine finishers in the 400 IM that came next.
Chloe Deveney was the top Tufts finisher in third place with a 4:29.50 NCAA 'B' mark.
Tory Atkinson submitted a 4:31.37 that was sixth.
Cierra McCarty also finaled and was eighth at 4:31.71, while
Sora Sohn won the consolation final in 4:30.74.
Senior
Claire Brennan then notched the second NESCAC freestyle title of her career, winning the 200 tonight with a 1:49.15 swim. She had been the 2020 conference champion in the 100 free. Tufts has now won the 200 free at three straight NESCAC meets. Classmate
Katelin Isakoff also posted an NCAA 'B' cut and was fourth in tonight's race at 1:50.89.
Isa Chambers added a 15th-place (1:54.55).
NCAA 'B' times by
Quinci Wheeler (1:04.08 for sixth place) and
Elle Morse (1:04.55 for seventh place) highlighted the 100 breaststroke for the Jumbos. Wheeler was just 0.07 off the school record.
Katelin Ulmer was eighth with a 1:04.99 touch, and
Abby Miller gave Tufts four in the top 11 with her 1:05.66 mark.
The 100 backstroke saw first-year
Maddie Hagberg swim 56.87 to finish as the runner-up. She had been sixth in the preliminaries.
Gaurika Singh went 57.44 for sixth place in the final, and
Elise Fong had a 58.76 that was 18th.
First-year
Malia Leung scored seventh in the three-meter diving competition with a 421.45 score. She was excellent in the trials with a 434.05 score.
To close the day, the Jumbo 200 medley relay of Klinginsmith, Wheeler, Foltenyi and Ulmer broke the school record with a 1:42.71 time. Their NCAA 'B' mark also included Klinginsmith setting the 50 backstroke school record with her 26.19 opening split. It was the third school record of the meet for Klinginsmith (200 IM, 100 fly, 200 back). The Jumbos were third in the race. The quartet of Singh, Morse, Blackstock and
Jillian Cudney also had an NCAA 'B' time of 1:44.56 that was 13th in the 200 medley relay.
The conference championship meet will finish up on Sunday with the 1,650 freestyle, the 200 backstroke, the 100 freestyle, the 200 breaststroke, the 200 butterfly and the 400 freestyle relay. The preliminaries begin at 10 AM with the finals commencing at 5:15 PM.
So far Tufts has won seven events and broken seven school records. The Jumbos who finish in the top three earn All-Conference accolades.
--JUMBOS--
