Swimming and diving hosts Trinity and Vassar in first meet since Dec. 2

Mount Holyoke senior Maddy Sewell placed fifth out of 21 competitors in 1-meter diving at the NEWMAC Championships on Feb. 23, 2024. (RJB Sports file photo)

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- The Mount Holyoke swimming and diving team hosted Trinity College and Vassar College on Monday in the MHC Natatorium and competed well in its first meet since Dec. 2.

Head coach Dave Allen said he was impressed by the Lyons' performance coming off of their training trip to Florida, which included travel delays as well as plenty of hard training. Monday's meet was rescheduled from its original date of Jan. 11 due to travel delays incurred by Trinity, also returning from Florida.

"The team is coming off a great training trip, and they've been working hard," said Allen. "It's always a challenge to compete while we are doing [two practices per day] and really focusing on training. I'm proud of how everyone has rolled with some challenges, including a very cold pool in Florida, delayed flights geting home, and rescheduling of meets. Everyone has taken it in stride."

Senior diver Maddy Sewell (Scottsdale, Ariz.) headlined Mount Holyoke's top achievers Monday by taking first place in both diving events. Trinity defeated both Mount Holyoke and Vassar in the team scoring, defeating the Lyons 230-68. Vassar outscored Mount Holyoke 206-78.

Sewell scored 243.35 points on the 1-meter board to top a field of eight women's divers, while Trinity's Esther Bradley placed second with 225.05. Sewell then won the 3-meter diving competition with a score of 226.10 points, edging Bradley by 5.25 points.

"It's great to see Maddy continuing to improve as we move through the season," said Allen.

Other highlights for the Lyons included:

Sophomore Carolina Loayza (Fort Myers, Fla.) took third place, just 0.04 out of second place, in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:01.21.
Junior Kamlyn Yosick (Portland, Ore.) placed fourth out of 14 competitors in the 50-yard freestyle, in a time of 25.95 seconds.
Senior Eliza Williams (Andover, Mass.) placed fourth in the 1,000 freestyle, in 11:48.10, and sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:49.08).
Senior Evelyn Bushway (Schenectady, N.Y.) placed fifth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:42.32).
Junior Megan Schneider (Newton, Mass.) took sixth place in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:15.12).
First-year Isabel Dunn (Harbor Springs, Mich.) placed sixth in the 200-yard backstroke (2:25.68).

Mount Holyoke is set to host the annual two-day Sisters Invitational this weekend, featuring Smith, Wellesley, Western New England and Simmons. Action on Saturday begins at 11:30am, and Sunday's portion starts at 10am.