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SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Feb. 20, 2011) – For the first time in school history, MIT took home top honors at the NEWMAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championship. With their win, the Engineers put an end to Springfield College's reign as league champions. The Pride had finished atop the standings for each of the past 10 years. Over the course of the weekend, nine NEWMAC Championship records fell at the Mount Holyoke College Natatorium.

MIT touched the wall first nine times en route to 917.5 points. The Engineers were followed by Springfield (894.5), the Coast Guard Academy (446), Wheaton College (359.5), Wellesley College (340), Clark University (299.5), WPI (202), Smith College (188), Babson College (115) and Mount Holyoke (113).

The Lyons were once again paced by Lauren Williams, who broke her own school record in the 200-yard backstroke with a 10^th place time of 2:12.39. The first year made an immediate impact on the Mount Holyoke program this season, posting 31 first place finishes. The Lyons closed out their 2010-11 campaign with a dual meet record of 5-3.

At the conclusion of this evening's final session, Springfield's Kellie Pennington was honored with both the NEWMAC Swimmer of the Year and Rookie of the Year Awards. The first year won three individual events and also figured in on a pair of relay victories. In addition to shattering NEWMAC Championship and Open records in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle races, she also hit NCAA "A" cuts in both events. Her third individual win came in the 100-yard butterfly. In the relays, she led Springfield to wins in the 200 and 400-yard freestyle races. Pennington also helped the Pride to second place finishes in the 200-yard medley relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay.

Clark's Eileen Garcia took home NEWMAC Diver of the Year accolades for the second year in a row after defending her titles in both the one and three-meter competitions. The junior recorded a score of 476.00 off the one-meter board and followed it up with a tally of 531.65 off the 3-meter board.

With her time of 17:13.53, Coast Guard's Kimberly Shadwick grabbed top honors in the 1,650-yard freestyle for the third year in a row. She was followed by Springfield's Meghan Sisson (17:31.49) and MIT's Sarah Weiss (17:38.57). All three athletes met the NCAA "B" cut standards with their times.

The MIT tandem of Katelyn Rossick and Christy Rogers occupied the top two spots in the 200-yard backstroke. The duo each provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship with their times of 2:06.18 and 2:06.84, respectively. They were closely followed by teammate Kathryn Greskoff (2:08.90).

Pennington's most impressive performance of the weekend came in the 100-yard freestyle, where she blasted the NEWMAC Open and Championship records and also met the NCAA "A" cut with her time of 50.89. Coast Guard's Heidi Gayman tapped in second with an NCAA "B" cut time of 52.14.

Wheaton's Nicole Zais defended her title in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:22.96. She finished ahead of MIT's Morganne Klein, who completed the race in 2:23.15. Both swimmers provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship with their times.

MIT added to its point total in the 200-yard butterfly, nabbing the top two positions once again. This time, it was Joanna Yeh with her NCAA "B" cut time of 2:08.36 and Anna Kokensparger (2:08.80).

Following Garcia's win in the finals of the three-meter diving competition, Springfield closed out the weekend with a record breaking victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of Kaitlin Reilly, Aimee Doe, Caroline Kosciusko and Pennington smashed the NEWMAC Open and Championship records with their time of 3:29.68. Pennington capped off her outstanding Championship with a blistering time 49.89 while anchoring the squad. Yeh, Sydney Giblin, Elina Hu and Kokensparger secured second place with a time of 3:30.40. Both squads provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship in the event.

Final Team Standings
1. MIT – 917.5
2. Springfield College – 894.5
3. Coast Guard Academy – 446
4. Wheaton College – 359.5
5. Wellesley College – 340
6. Clark University – 299.5
7. WPI – 202
8. Smith College – 188
9. Babson College – 115
10. Mount Holyoke College – 113

2011 NEWMAC Women's Swimming and Diving All-Conference Teams
(Event Winners Earn First Team All-Conference)

! - NEWMAC Championship record
^ - NEWMAC Open record
@ - NCAA "A" standard
& - NCAA "B" standard