Swimming and diving defeats the Coast Guard
The MIT women’s swimming and diving team defeats NEWAC rival Coast Guard at a home meet on Saturday afternoon
Racing for the first time in over a month, the MIT women’s swimming and diving team defeated New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival U.S. Coast Guard Academy at home on Saturday afternoon by a score of 195-83. Throughout the day, the Engineers were able to swim events not normally raced at dual meets and claimed first place in 13 of the 16 events.
MIT started the day by taking first through third place in the 400-yard medley relay, with the A relay leading the way with a time of 4:03.74. The B relay followed soon after in second place with a 4:08.65 and the C relay touched in third in 4:13.16. In the first individual event, the 1,000-yard freestyle, Emmie Ryan ’15 was victorious with her time of 10:56.91, while Sarah A. Weiss ’14 was second in 11:26.00.
MIT claimed first, second, and third place in the 50-yard backstroke, an event the Engineers rarely get to swim in dual meets. Veronika Jedryka ’17 touched first in 28.47, Katherine X. Yu ’16 came in second with a 29.13 and Isabella M. Voelkl ’17 was third with a time of 29.45. Jedryka would later go on to win the 500-yard freestyle as well, touching 16 seconds ahead of the competition with her time of 5:15.05. The 50-yard breaststroke was a strong event for the Engineers, who took first through fourth. Kristen N. Finney ’16 led the charge with a 31.05, Christy K. Rogers ’14 touched directly after in 31.15, Emily L. Tsang ’17 was third with a 32.21 and Michelle M. Cunningham ’15 came in fourth with a time of 32.76.
Teresa de Figueiredo won the 200-yard butterfly with her time of 2:13.47, while Lena Yang ’16 took first in the 50-yard freestyle in 24.88. Joanna R. Yeh ’14 and Cunningham were second and third with times of 25.40 and 25.43 respectively. Before taking a 15 minute break, Grace B. Connors ’16 came in first place on the 1-meter diving board with a score 239.76. Jessica L. Wass ’14 placed third with her score of 199.27. Connors came in second place on the 3-meter board with a score of 218.25 and Wass was third with 182.55.
Rogers won her first individual event of the day, the 200-yard backstroke, with a time 2:10.13, leading a group of three other Engineers. Yu came in second place in 2:12.14, Jane W. He ’15 touched in third with a 2:12.49 and classmate Taylor M. Pearl ’15 was fourth in 2:16.53. Finney claimed first in her second event of the day, swimming a time of 2:30.49 in the 200-yard breaststroke, and Tammy Tai ’17 touched in second with a 2:33.19. Danielle A. Garside ’16 and Yeh took first and second place in the 50-yard butterfly with their times of 27.26 and 27.60 respectively and, in the final individual event of the day, the 200-yard Individual Medley, Tai finished in first with a 2:13.74. She was followed by Tsang in second in 2:14.70 and de Figueiredo in third place with a 2:16.97.
To end the day, the MIT 200-yard freestyle C relay took first place with its time of 1:41.69. The relay, composed of Yang, Hannah E. Huynh ’17, Tsang and Yu, touched two full seconds ahead of Coast Guard’s A relay that finished in second.
MIT will be on the road for the next two meets. On Saturday, Jan. 18, the Engineers will travel to face Tufts University at 1:00 p.m. and, the following Saturday, Jan. 24, Tech will go to Williamstown, Mass. to take on Williams College at 4:00 p.m.