WORCESTER, Mass. – Opening day action at Gompei Invitational is in the books and through the first 28 events, the Mount Holyoke College swimming and diving team is fourth among the 12 competing schools. The meet, which is taking place at WPI, features multi-divisional competition. Day one featured a number of outstanding efforts, including three school records.
Leading the way on Saturday was sophomore Anne Kuenning (Bow, N.H./Bow), who set a new school record mark in the 200-backstroke. She posted a time of 2:09.25 – good for fourth overall – eclipsing the previous record of 2:12.39 set by Lauren Williams '14 in 2011.
Kuenning's strong efforts would continue into the final event as she set the 100-backstroke record during her leg of the 400-medley relay. She posted a time of 59.89 in the event, which saw the Lyons' foursome post an overall time of 4:09.80 – good for fourth, to eclipse the previous mark of 1:00.63. That record was also held by Williams, who set the mark last season.
Other members of the relay included senior Maya Lazarovich (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington), sophomore Katie Tyler (Hadley, Mass./Hopkins Academy) and junior Cathleen Pruden (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School).
The Lyons also saw Pruden and Lazarovich combine with first year Willa Holmes (Portland, Ore./Catlin Gabel School) and sophomore Emily Craig (Rochester, N.Y./Gates-Chili Senior) to finish sixth overall in the 800-free relay. The group combined for a time of 8:14.56.
Pruden also had an outstanding day individually, winning the 500-freestyle in dominant fashion. She posted a time of 5:07.47, which was nearly three seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Pruden also finished second in the 200-individual medley, posting a time of 2:08.32.
Tyler finished fourth overall in the 50-butterfly, posting a time of 26.88, while Lazarovich was seventh in the 100-breast with a mark of 1:11.65.
Through the first day of action, Division II Assumption leads the meet with a score of 1484.0 points. The host Engineers are second with a mark of 1426.0 points, while Roger Williams is third with a score of 1052.0 points. The Lyons are fourth with a score of 713.0 points, while Division II Bentley rounds out the top five with 567.0 points.
Action at the Gompei Invitational resumes on Sunday at 9am with the preliminary swims. The event finals will begin at 4:30pm. Live stats and video for the meet can be found HERE.
