Cambridge, Mass. - February 20, 2022 - Following a four-day New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Swimming and Diving Championship this past weekend, Mount Holyoke College earned 306 points en route to an eighth-place finish among league foes. The meet was hosted at MIT's Zesiger Sport and Fitness Center from Thursday to Sunday. Senior Kathryn Murphy (Fairport, N.Y.) took the victory in the three-meter board and was titled the 2022 NEWMAC Three-Meter Board Champion.
Highlighting the day for the Lyons, Murphy emerged with an incredible performance in the three-meter eleven-dive board producing a score of 491.55 and was crowned the Three-Meter Board 2022 NEWMAC Champion. This is the first time a Mount Holyoke swimming and diving student-athlete won an event at the NEWMAC Championships since Cathleen Pruden won the 200 and 400 IM in 2016. The senior's performance also marks a Mount Holyoke swimming and diving program record by 15.35 points, besting Samantha Nemivant '20 score of 476.20 set back in 2018.
Sunday's morning prelim session began with the 1650 freestyle, as sophomore Eliza Williams (Andover, Mass.) was the Lyons' top finisher, clocking in at 18:29.32 to finish 12th overall, while classmate Lily Nemirovsky (Bedford, Mass.) finished in 20th place, recording a time of 19:19.19. Following in the 200 backstroke, junior Anais Magner (Whakatane, New Zealand) finished first for Mount Holyoke, producing a time of 2:17.72.
First-year Megan Schneider (Newton, Mass.) crossed the line first for the Lyons in the 100 freestyle, posting a time of 56.83 seconds, while in the 200 breaststroke, junior Lauren Leese (Round Rock, Texas) was Mount Holyoke College's top finisher with a time of 2:40.84. First-year Hannah Heierhoff (Wiesbaden, Germany) finished 18th in the preliminary round posting a time of 2:20.42, before crossing the line 17th overall recording a time of 2:16.81.
In the afternoon session, Mount Holyoke College had three divers competing on the three-meter board prelims, as Murphy finished first overall producing a score of 466.05, before earning the victory by notching a score of 491.55. First-year Sophie Simon (Menlo Park, Calif.) who finished fourth in the prelims by posting a score of 419.15, followed by a fourth-place overall finish in the finals with a score of 433.80. First-year Lilje Sratton (Bellevue, Wash.) was seventh in the prelims with a score of 372.35, before finishing seventh in the finals producing a score of 363.70.
Wrapping up the championship with the 400 freestyle relay, the team of Williams, senior Caitlyn Richmond (Florence, Mass.), sophomore Adji Diouf (Arlington, Va.), and Schneider took ninth overall with a time of 3:47.25, while the team of sophomore Evelyn Bushway (Schenectady, N.Y.), junior Erin Schrama (Providence, R.I.), senior Gigi Picard (Wilmette, Ill.), and Heierhoff was eighth in the B final with a time of 3:52.95.
Mount Holyoke College will now have two divers competing at the NCAA Division III Diving Regionals, hosted at Smith College. The first session will be Friday, February 25.
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