Women's swimming downs conference power MIT for first time since 1993-94 season, Lyon teams record three national qualifying marks

December 9, 2006

CAMBRIDGE, MA- The Wheaton College women's swimming and diving team stunned New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) power Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Saturday, as the Lyons downed the Engineers for the first time since the 1993-94 season and second time in the 16-year history of the program. The dramatic outcome came down to the final event of the afternoon, the 200-yard freestyle relay, as the women took second for all the points they would need.

Competing in a double-dual meet with conference foe Smith College at MIT's Zesiger Pool, Wheaton edged the Engineers, 151-148 and knocked off the Pioneers, 204-93 to improve to 7-2 overall. On the men's side during a dual meet with the hosts, the Lyons dropped a 159-96 decision to fall to 4-4 on the season. Between the two Blue and White teams, Wheaton combined for seven school records.

Despite the loss, the men's team had much to celebrate, as senior All-American Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) and junior Matt Jordan (Ellsworth, ME/Ellsworth) combined to post three NCAA Division III national meet qualifying times. Roberts had an incredible day in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events, shattering his school record and conference mark and the pool standard in both events. Roberts posted automatic qualifying standards in the 50 and 100 with times of 20.48 and 45.30, respectively, while Jordan turned in a provisional qualifying time of 52.65 during the 100-yard backstroke.

On the women's side, freshman Emily Sweatt (Portland, ME/Deering) broke her own school records in each the 50-, 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes. In the 100 breast, she clocked in at 32.06 during the first half of the race to surpass the old 50 mark while winning the event in 1:08.64. Sweatt, who won the 200 breast in 2:31.50, also swam a leg in the school-record 400-yard medley relay, joining juniors Meg Miller (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) and Abby Pratt (Melrose, MA/Melrose) and freshman Iris Meehan (Bar Harbor, ME/Mount Desert Island). The quartet placed first in 4:04.25, beating the old mark by 4.24 seconds.

Entering the final event, Wheaton's top 200-yard free relay team of Meehan, Miller, sophomore Caitlin Glover (Durham, NH/Berwick Academy) and first-year Brenna Crothers (Mount Desert, ME/Mount Desert Island) did what was necessary, taking second in 1:42.86. Top placements that helped aid the Lyons' final score came from Pratt in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly races, Meehan in the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes and Miller in the 200-yard freestyle.

For the men, Roberts turned in a national meet automatic qualifying time in the 50-yard freestyle twice this afternoon, as his top finish in the 50-yard open event was 20.54, which was 1.10 seconds ahead of the next competitor. Roberts' 50-yard mark of 20.48 during the relay was 0.25 seconds faster than his previous standard, while his 100-yard time bested the competition by nearly three seconds. Jordan won the 100-yard butterfly in a school-record time of 53.14 to round out Wheaton's event victories, as he edged out the 2003 record by .08 seconds.

With this afternoon's competition serving as Wheaton's final meet of the semester, the Lyons will return to action in 2007 on Saturday, January 6 at 1:00 p.m. Both teams will face NEWMAC opponent United States Coast Guard Academy, while the women will also square off against league foe Wellesley College.

Complete Results

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