South Hadley, Mass. - November 9, 2019 - Competing inside the MHC Natatorium for the first time this season, the Mount Holyoke College swimming and diving team used a first and third-place finish in the final relay to edge the University of New England, 132-128, on Saturday afternoon.

The Lyons won 10 of the 16 events on Saturday, and was led by a pair of first-place finishes from Tamara Mukulu (Nairobi, Kenya), Erin Schrama (Taunton, Mass.) and Ashton Bliss (Yorktown, Va.). Senior Samantha Nemivant (Scottsdale, Ariz.) continued early-season success and won both the one-meter and three-meter boards, with a national-qualifying mark on the one-meter.

Opening the day with the 200 medley relay where the team of Anais Magner (Ohiwa, New Zealand), Schrama, Naomi Brown (Bloomington, Ind.), and Mukulu took second overall with a time of 2:01.27. Next, in the 1000 freestyle, the Lyons claimed the top three spots as Bliss was first with a time of 11:30.76, finishing just ahead of Brown's time of 12:12.78. Rounding out the top three was Natalie Burkett (Framingham, Mass.), who turned in a time of 12:24.08.

Junior Riley Hicks (Bow, N.H.) was second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:13.24, while in the 100 backstroke, Magner took third with a time of 1:07.19. 

From there, the Lyons would pick up three-consecutive first-place finishes before the first diving break. Schrama claimed the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:15.48 before Lauren Leese (Round Rock, Texas) won the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:06.11. Mukulu would then go on to take first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.58, as Gigi Picard (Wilmette, Ill.) followed suit and took second overall with a time of 28.16 seconds.

In the first of two diving events on Saturday, Nemivant continued her strong start to the year with a national-qualifying mark of 259.05 on the one-meter board, which was good for first overall. Nemivant was followed by Katie Kolozsvari (Danville, Ind.), who was second with a score of 236.00. Later in the meet, Nemivant would go on to win the three-meter board with a score of 257.10, followed by Kolozsvari's mark of 232.95.

Schrama and Adrienne Corr (San Diego, Calif.) took first and second overall in the 200 breaststroke, as Schrama notched a time of 2:43.64, followed by Corr's mark of 2:43.82. Mukulu won the 50 butterfly with a time of 29.10 seconds, while Brown was third with a mark of 29.66.

Wrapping up with the 400 individual medley, Bliss was first with a time of 5:08.10, while Leese was just behind with a second-place time of 5:14.00. In the 400 freestyle relay, the Lyons were able to prevail over the Nor'easters as the team of Mukulu, Schrama, Brown and Bliss combined for a winning time of 3:56.84, while Hicks, Caitlyn Richmond (Northampton, Mass.), Picard and Leese notched a time of 4:07.31, good for third.

Up next, Mount Holyoke College will travel to Westfield State University for a 1 p.m. meet on Saturday, November 16.

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