NORTON, Mass. - It was a solid afternoon of action as the Mount Holyoke College swimming & diving team opened its 2016 slate in a tri-meet at Wheaton College on Tuesday afternoon. MHC defeated Clark University by a 147-83 margin, but fell to the host Lyons, 134-105. Leading the way for Mount Holyoke were senior Cathleen Pruden who notched three individual victories.
The action got going in the 200-yard Medley Relay as the Lyons team of junior Anne Kuenning (Bow, N.H./Bow), senior Sarah Crocker (Sacramento, Calif./C.K. McClatchy), first year Groves (Reston, Va./South Lakes) and senior Emily Serio (Sturbridge, Mass./Tantasqua Regional), powered their way to third overall in a time of 1:59.90.
Pruden (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School) shined in the 1,000-yard freestyle event, posting a time of 10:30.44, which was nearly half a minute faster than the second place finisher.
In the 200-yard freestyle, junior Emily Craig (Rochester, N.Y./Gates-Chili Senior) grabbed first place with a mark of 2:04.77. Close behind was senior Erica Carvell (Chicago, Ill./Metea Valley), who finished third in the event with a time of 2:05.75.
Junior Katie Tyler (Hadley, Mass./Hopkins Academy) posted a third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.39, while Pruden once again claimed victory, this time in the 200-yard Individual Medley with a mark of 2:08.92 - which was just shy of an NCAA B Cut.
Senior diver Emily Ewen (Seymour, Conn./Chase Collegiate) notched a fourth-place finish in the 1-meter event, recording a score of 157.35, while Groves and Crocker picked up valuable points for the Lyons in the 100-yard butterfly. Groves won the event with a time of 1:02.72, while Crocker was fourth with a mark of 1:05.89.
Pruden grabbed her third victory of the afternoon in the 500-yard freestyle, touching the wall in a time of 5:09.50 - her fastest mark of the season. Carvell also finished well in the 500, posting a time of 5:45.27, which was good for fourth overall.
Ewen had another solid effort in the 3-meter event, posting a score of 148.50 to place third. Groves grabbed another victory in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:11.60, while Crocker was third in the same event with a time of 1:14.15.
Rounding out the day's efforts was the 200-yard Freestyle Relay team of Carvell, Kuenning, Craig and Tyler, who finished second overall with a time of 1:43.92.
The Lyons are right back in action on Thursday when they open their 2016 home slate against Vassar and Trinity. Action begins at 1pm. For a live webcast of diving, click HERE. To view the live webcast of swimming, click HERE.
