SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Vassar College made a strong statement through day one of the 2018 Seven Sisters Championships, hosted by Mount Holyoke College. The Brewers posted 11 victories over the first 13 events to lead the field of five teams with 740.5 points. Vassar heads into Sunday's final action with just an 11-point lead over second-place, Wellesley College, which claimed victory in the other two events, in addition to a number of excellent finishes.
Rounding out the field is the homestanding Lyons in third with 358 points. Smith College is currently fourth with 339 points, while Bryn Mawr College is fifth with 276 points.
Highlighting the day's effort was a Seven Sisters record-setting performance by Vassar first year Shannon Schrope (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon). In the 100-yard breaststroke, Schrope touched the wall in a time of 1:04.88, which not only shattered the previous record (1:09.05) set in 2005, but was also an NCAA B Cut as well.
Individually there were a number of multiple-win performances on the day, including Vassar first year Rhea Randhawa (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East), who not only swam to victory in the 200-yard individual medley (2:09.86), the 400-yard IM (4:35.28) and the 100-yard backstroke (59.36), but was also a part of the Brewers' win in the 400-yard medley (3:59.81) and 800-yard freestyle (7:59.68) relays.
Also seeing outstanding results on day one were the competitors of the 1-meter diving event. Leading the charge was Wellesley senior captain Maura Sticco-Ivins (Framingham, Mass./Framingham), who captured her fourth-straight Seven Sisters title with a score of 451.70 points. In second was Smith senior Elly Stone (Westborough, Mass./Westborough), who recorded 436.00 points, while MHC sophomore Samantha Nemivant (Scottsdale, Ariz./Notre Dame Prep) placed third with 434.20 points. All told, the top three finishers, as well as fourth and fifth-place posted NCAA Regional Qualifying marks.
Action continues on Sunday with the third and final session, beginning at 9:30am with 3-meter diving. Swimming will begin at 12:15pm with the 1650-freestyle.
