Swimming and diving team a close runner-up at Sisters Invitational

Megan Schneider placed fifth among 27 competitors in the 100-yard freestyle at the Sisters Invitational on Jan. 15, 2023. (RJB Sports file photo)
Megan Schneider placed fifth among 27 competitors in the 100-yard freestyle at the Sisters Invitational on Jan. 15, 2023. (RJB Sports file photo)

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Junior diver Maddy Sewell recorded her second personal-best score in as many days in winning the 1-meter diving competition, highlighting the second day of the Sisters Invitational for the Mount Holyoke swimming and diving team Sunday at the MHC Natatorium.

Mount Holyoke finished a close second to Wellesley in team points among the five competing teams. Wellesley finished first with 1,160 points, followed by Mount Holyoke in second (1,099), Smith College in third (533.5), Simmons University in fourth (459.5), and Western New England University in fifth place (314).

Sewell (Scottsdale, Ariz.) scored a career-high 456.20 points on 10 dives, 55.80 ahead of runner-up Katherine Welsh of Smith, to place first and remain unbeaten by opponents this season.

"Maddy had two good performances at Trinity on Wednesday, but came back with corrections she was able to apply quickly that led to two great performances on the boards this weekend," said Mount Holyoke diving coach Rachel Araujo. "Coming back from winter break, she's been training really hard and is starting to get some upgrades ready for championships as well as fine tuning some of her existing dives."

The Lyons also piled up team points in the 200-yard butterfly by grabbing places 2 through 6, led by first-year Carolina Loayza's (Fort Myers, Fla.) second-place time of 2:18.21. Sophomore Hannah Heierhoff (Wiesbaden, Germany) was third (2:25.66), junior Evelyn Bushway (Schenectady, N.Y.) was fourth (2:27.12), junior Seran Goudsouzian (Hellertown, Pa.) was fifth (2:38.80) and sophomore Emily Tarinelli (Groton, Conn.) was sixth in the event (2:40.23).

Sophomore Megan Schneider (Newton, Mass.) also placed fifth in the 100-yard freestyle (57.63).

The Lyons will host Simmons agains on Saturday, Jan. 21, for a dual meet beginning at 12pm.