SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College swimming & diving team posted a 165-133 win over Smith College in the final regular season dual meet for both teams. With the win, the Lyons improve to 6-4 overall, while the Pioneers move to 4-4 on the season.
It was a day of celebration for both squads as the Lyons honored seniors Rachel Boynton (Northampton, Mass./Northampton), Maya Lazarovich (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) and Rui Nozaki (Rio Rancho, N.M./Rio Rancho).
Additionally, Smith's senior class was also honored, including Kyle Boyd (Amherst, Mass./Amherst), Paige Christie (N. Andover, Mass./Austin Prep), Malayna Hocker (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills), Emily Lane (Centennial, Colo./Kent Denver School), Vanessa McFarlane (Oro Valley, Ariz./Canyon del Oro), Alyssa Pascuzzo (Scottsdale, Ariz./Notre Dame Prep), Greta Stacy (Woodbury, Minn./Mounds Park Academy), Ayla Staelin-Lefsky (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) and Helen Zhang (Shanghai, China/SMIC).
In the meet, the Lyons were paced by junior Cathleen Pruden (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School), who posted victory in the 1,000-freestyle (10:28.91), the 200-breaststroke (2:26.26) and the 200-IM (2:11.28). She also helped the 400-free relay touch the wall first with a time of 3:49.38.
Other members of the relay included first year Willa Holmes (Portland, Ore./Catlin Gabel School) and sophomores Emily Craig (Rochester, N.Y./Gates-Chili Senior) and Anne Kuenning (Bow, N.H./Bow).
Kuenning also posted individual wins in the 100-backstroke (1:03.00) and the 200-back (2:17.41). Additionally, she helped the 200-medley relay team to victory with a time of 1:55.64. Sophomore Katie Tyler (Hadley, Mass./Hopkins Academy) also saw success on the day, winning the 50-free (25.52) and the 100-butterfly (1:03.69).
Lazarovich, who was also a member of the 200-medley relay team, posted a win in the 200-butterfly (2:20.65), while Craig picked up the victory in the 100-free (57.36).
For the Pioneers, junior Claire Dudek (Bethesda, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) was the winner in the 500-freestyle (5:33.53). She also finished second in the 1000-free (11:24.13). Classmate Christine Hart (Rexford, N.Y./Niskayuna) picked up a win in the 100-breast (1:13.88), while Smith recorded both wins in the diving events.
Off the 1-meter, first year Elyse Stone (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) recorded a score of 281.50 points, while in the 3-meter event, junior Anna Partridge (Seattle, Wash./Mercer Island) won with a score of 297.15 points.
Both teams are now idle until February 19, when they travel to Worcester, Mass., to compete at the 2015 NEWMAC Championships. Action at the meet begins on Thursday and runs through Sunday.
