Wheaton posts program-best third-place finish at NEWMAC meet, Lyons combine for nine school records and trio of conference marks

February 24, 2008

WELLESLEY, MA- The Wheaton College women's swimming and diving team recorded its best finish in the 10-year history of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship, as the Lyons came in third with a school-record 645 points as the three-day meet wrapped up on Sunday at Wellesley College's Chandler Pool. After coming in fourth each of the past three years, Wheaton, which was within 16 points of first place deep into the final day, finished behind only eight-time defending champion Springfield College, which had 707.5 points, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which notched 701.

Nine school records fell during the weekend, as Lyons helped break a trio of NEWMAC Championship and open marks while surpassing NCAA Championship provisional qualifying standards on six occasions. Senior Abby Pratt (Melrose, MA/Melrose) and freshman Dania Piscetta (Belmont, NH/Belmont) matched Pratt's 2007 school record of earning four all-conference honors, requiring placing among the top two in an event. Wheaton tallied seven all-conference finishes in individual events or relays and won three races after entering the weekend with 12 all-conference laurels and five event victories in its first 12 league championship meets combined.

In the preliminary round of the first event of the meet on Friday, Wheaton's 200-yard freestyle relay quartet broke the NEWMAC Championship and open records, as well as a year-old school mark, while notching a provisional time for the national meet with a 1:37.38 finish. During the opening 50-yard leg, Pratt's time of 24.18 bettered the year-old school record and provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championship. In the finals heat, Piscetta, Pratt, senior Meg Miller (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) and freshman Nicole Zais (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) combined on a time of 1:38.44 to take first place.

The Lyons also captured the final event of the day, the 400-yard medley relay, as Piscetta, Pratt and sophomores Iris Meehan (Bar Harbor, ME/Mount Desert Island) and Emily Sweatt (Portland, ME/Deering) turned in a showing of 3:58.19, the first sub-four-minute time in the race in conference history. In addition to setting the league's championship and open records and surpassing the school's year-old mark, the foursome notched a provisional time for the NCAA meet. Pratt came in second during the 50-yard freestyle, as her trials time of 24.22 and finals showing of 24.21 both met NCAA provisional standards. Piscetta was second in the 200-yard individual medley, eclipsing a two-year-old program mark at 2:12.73.

On day two, the Lyons opened competition by breaking the NEWMAC Championship and open records and a year-old school mark in the 200-yard medley relay, as Piscetta, Pratt, Sweatt and Zais put together the event's top showing in 1:49.64. Pratt was second during the 100-yard backstroke trials in 1:00.79 before Meehan clocked in at 1:00.80 to place second in the championship heat. Sweatt placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:07.72, but only after swimming to a 1:07.40 trials finish, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championship and coming within 0.01 seconds of her own school record. Piscetta broke her own two-month-old program mark by finishing the 100-yard butterfly in 59.66 during a third-place showing. Wheaton's 800-yard freestyle relay quartet eclipsed a year-old school record with a time of 8:12.35, as Miller, Zais, junior Caitlin Glover (Durham, NH/Berwick Academy) and sophomore Sarah Houlihan (West Springfield, MA/West Springfield) combined on a fifth-place finish.

Meehan twice eclipsed her year-old 200-yard backstroke school record on Sunday, swimming to 2:13.43 in the trials before finishing third during the finals with a time of 2:12.65. Sweatt earned all-conference honors in the 200-yard breaststroke by finishing second in 2:27.90, shaving 3.85 seconds off her trials time to come within 0.50 ticks of her own year-old program mark. Following Sweatt's performance, Wheaton stood third and was within 16 points of first place with three events remaining before MIT and Springfield pulled away. In the final race, Miller, Piscetta, Pratt and Zais combined for a school-record time of 3:37.58 in the 400-yard freestyle relay, placing third while breaking their own three-week-old mark by nearly three full seconds.

Wheaton's provisional qualifiers await word on whether they will compete at the NCAA Division III Championship, which will take place on March 13-15 at the College of Wooster in Ohio.

Following is a complete list of the top 16 individual and relay finishers for Wheaton over the three-day competition of the NEWMAC Championship:

Individual
Name Event Time Place
Iris Meehan 100 backstroke 1:00.80 2nd
Dania Piscetta 200 individual medley 2:12.73* 2nd
Abby Pratt 50 freestyle 24.21^ 2nd
Emily Sweatt 200 breaststroke 2:27.90 2nd
Iris Meehan 200 backstroke 2:12.65* 3rd
Dania Piscetta 100 butterfly 59.66* 3rd
Dania Piscetta 100 freestyle 53.69 3rd
Emily Sweatt 100 breaststroke 1:07.72 3rd
Stephanie Conelias 400 individual medley 4:50.12 4th
Abby Pratt 100 backstroke 1:01.00 4th
Abby Pratt 100 freestyle 53.91 4th
Caitlin Glover 200 backstroke 2:15.87 5th
Stephany Perkins 100 breaststroke 1:10.60 5th
Stephany Perkins 200 breaststroke 2:31.93 5th
Caitlin Glover 100 backstroke 1:02.51 6th
Stephanie Conelias 200 individual medley 2:17.44 7th
Sara Hollar 200 butterfly 2:20.59 7th
Aurelie Marcotte 100 backstroke 1:03.28 7th
Aurelie Marcotte 200 backstroke 2:18.17 7th
Nicole Zais 100 breaststroke 1:11.25 7th
Mandy Cumings 400 individual medley 5:01.27 8th
Emily Sweatt 200 individual medley 2:18.58 8th
Nicole Zais 50 freestyle 24.75 8th
Stephanie Conelias 200 butterfly 2:17.69 9th
Mandy Cumings 200 backstroke 2:16.87 9th
Sara Hollar 100 butterfly 1:01.57 9th
Sarah Houlihan 1650 freestyle 18:25.30 9th
Nicole Zais 100 freestyle 54.86 9th
Sara Houlihan 200 freestyle 2:01.98 10th
Meg Miller 100 backstroke 1:04.74 10th
Iris Meehan 200 individual medley 2:18.03 11th
Alisha Wilson 400 individual medley 4:59.61 12th
Caitlin Glover 100 butterfly 1:03.20 14th
Sarah Houlihan 500 freestyle 5:22.86 14th
Meg Miller 50 freestyle 25.63 14th

Name Event Score Place
Laura Fleck 1m dive 310.30 11th
Julia Lynch 3m dive 302.00 12th
Emma Chaiken 3m dive 295.55 13th
Julia Lynch 1m dive 289.55 13th

Relay
Name Event Time Place
Pratt, Miller, Piscetta, Zais 200 freestyle relay 1:38.44 1st
Pratt, Sweatt, Piscetta, Zais 200 medley relay 1:49.64* 1st
Meehan, Sweatt, Piscetta, Pratt 400 medley relay 3:58.19*^ 1st
Piscetta, Miller, Zais, Pratt 400 freestyle relay 3:37.58* 3rd
Houlihan, Miller, Zais, Glover 800 freestyle relay 8:12.35* 5th
Perkins, Meehan, Farrell, Marcotte 200 freestyle relay 1:41.89 10th
Meehan, Perkins, Farrell, Miller 200 medley relay 1:52.29 11th
Perkins, Farrell, Meehan, Glover 400 freestyle relay 3:44.18 12th
Marcotte, Sweatt, Conelias, Cumings 800 freestyle relay 8:23.52 14th

* Denotes school record
^ NCAA national meet B standard

Complete Results

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