WELLESLEY, Mass. – Action at the 2016 Seven Sisters Championships has concluded and the Mount Holyoke College swimming & diving team placed third of five teams at this year's event. The Lyons amassed 681 points on the weekend, finishing just behind Vassar (779.5) and the 2016 champion, Wellesley (1,212).
Day two opened on a high note for the Lyons as senior captain Cathleen Pruden (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School) won the 1650-yard freestyle. Already the Seven Sisters record holder in the event, she set a new mark on Sunday with a time of 17:19.99. That time was also an NCAA B Cut.
In the 200-yard backstroke, junior Anne Kuenning (Bow, N.H./Bow) finished fourth overall. She touched the wall in a time of 2:16.04. The 100-yard freestyle saw junior Katie Tyler (Hadley, Mass./Hopkins Academy) place fifth with a time of 56.93, while classmate and captain Emily Craig (Rochester, N.Y./Gates-Chili Senior) placed seventh in the 100 with a mark of 57.53.
Pruden then grabbed her fourth individual victory of the meet in the 200-yard breaststroke. She touched the wall in a time of 2:23.77, which not only broke her own Seven Sisters record, but also her school record mark. First year Bri Groves (Reston, Va./South Lakes) was runner-up to Pruden in the event, posting a time of 2:31.41.
In the 200-yard butterfly, Tyler was the top Lyons finisher in seventh with a time of 2:25.82, while senior Erica Carvell (Chicago, Ill./Metea Valley) was just behind in eighth with a mark of 2:31.42.
The final event of this year's meet saw the Lyons foursome of Craig, Tyler, Groves and Pruden finish runner-up behind Wellesley. The group posted a time of 3:41.13, which was just behind the Blue's A relay (3:40.47). It was a battle right to the end as the Lyons sat in third before Pruden made up a ton of ground on the anchor, nearly catching Wellesley's Cathy Chen on the last stretch.
Mount Holyoke will now rest until next Saturday when they host Simmons at 12pm. That meet will also mark Senior Day for the Lyons seven graduating seniors.
Pictured is the Lyons victorious 200-yard freestyle relay team of Pruden, Kuenning, Tyler and Craig, courtesy of Wellesley Sports Information.