CLINTON, N.Y. - Action at the 2017 Hamilton Invitational wrapped-up on Saturday evening with two sessions on the final day as the Mount Holyoke College swimming & diving team placed sixth overall. The Lyons compiled 335 points on the weekend.
Following solid competition on Friday evening, the Lyons opened the day strong as the foursome of rookies Jacqueline Park and Naomi Brown, along with senior captain Claire Beckett and junior Bri Groves were sixth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The group notched a time of 1:47.69.
Brown went on to place 12th in the 100-yard butterfly, touching the wall with a time of 1:05.76, while in the 200-yard freestyle, Park was 15th with a mark of 2:08.65. Rookie Riley Hicks also competed in the 200-free, finishing just outside the points in 19th with a time of 2:12.31.
Groves earned the Lyons first win of the weekend, notching a time of 1:10.47 to claim victory in the 100-yard breaststroke. The second session concluded with the 400-yard medley relay as the team of rookie Julia Swinehart, Groves, Brown and Park were sixth with a time of 4:24.28.
The final session of the day opened with the grueling 1650-yard freestyle as rookie Ashton Bliss was fifth with a time of 19:28.42. Sophomore Natalie Burkett was 16th in the event with a mark of 20:26.92, while classmate Sarah Ratzlaff finished 19th (20:42.95).
Moving into the 200-yard backstroke, Swinehart shined with a fifth-place finish. She touched the wall in a time of 2:21.49. The 100-yard freestyle saw rookie Tamara Mukulu place seventh with a time of 57.85, while Groves garnered her second victory of the meet with a win in the 200-yard breastroke. She posted a time of 2:32.83.
The final swimming event of the day saw the foursome of Brown, Hicks, Beckett and Groves swim to seventh overall in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The group hit a time of 3:58.30 for the finish.
In the meet's diving events, Lyons sophomore Samantha Nemivant shined, placing third overall off both boards. In the 1-meter, she compiled 396.45 points, which was an NCAA Regional Qualifying mark in the 11-dive option event. Rookie Katie Kolozsvari was ninth with 305.25 points, while classmate Elise Malvicini was 15th with 241.55 points. The 3-meter event saw Nemivant post a score of 407.30 points.
The host Continentals captured victory in this year's event, compiling 736 points. Hamilton was followed by Cortland State (629.5), Oswego State (501.5), Oneonta State (489) and Trinity College (438.5).
Mount Holyoke is now idle until January 11th when it travels to Clark University for a tri-meet against the Cougars and Wheaton College at 1pm.
