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Led by 19th-year head coach Dave Allen, the Mount Holyoke swimming & diving team had a solid run in 2016-17. The Lyons posted a dual meet record of 2-8, finished fourth at Seven Sisters and were ninth at the NEWMAC Championships.
MHC, which posted victories over the University of New England and Vassar College, rebounded from a tough loss to Assumption with a victory over the Nor'Easters on the road. Senior Katie Tyler paced the way for the Lyons with four first place finishes, including a UNE pool record in the 50-yard butterfly.
Tough losses at Westfield State and Wellesley took MHC through November and into the start of December at the Hamilton College Invitational. The Lyons saw its 200-yard freestyle relay team capture victory at the event, while first year Samantha Nemivant was third in both diving events, notching NCAA Regional qualifying marks in each.
Following its annual trip to Florida, the Lyons returned home to host Clark and Wheaton at the MHC Natatorium. Despite falling to both opponents, senior captain Anne Kuenning won the 200-back, while Nemivant shined in victory off the 1-meter board.
Just a few days later saw Mount Holyoke once again in tri-meet action, this time against Trinity and Vassar in Hartford, Conn. The Lyons fell to the host Bantams, but defeated the Brewers for their second win of the season. Senior captain Emily Craig paced the effort with three wins on the afternoon, including victories in the 100-and-200 freestyle events.
Next up for MHC was the Seven Sisters Championships at Vassar. The Lyons came away with a fourth-place finish behind a number of solid efforts. Kuenning was third in the 200-back, while Nemivant was fourth off the 3-meter board, besting her own school record in the event.
A tough loss to Simmons led the Lyons to their final dual meet of the season against Smith. MHC, which celebrated its four seniors (Craig, Kuenning, Tyler and Tristan Strange), was paced by wins in the 200-medley and 200-free relays, as well as victory by Nemivant off the 1-meter board.
The Lyons closed out the team season at the NEWMAC Championships, hosted this year by WPI. The 800-free relay kicked things off with a ninth-place finish, while 200-free relay team swam to eighth overall in the championship final. Individually, Nemivant was once again outstanding as she finished sixth in the 3-meter event.
Nemivant went on to compete in the final events for the Lyons on the year as she earned enough qualifying dives to represent MHC at the 2017 NCAA New England Diving Regionals. She finished 19th off the 1-meter board and closed out her rookie campaign with a 26th-place finish in the 3-meter event.
Academically, six student-athletes were named to the NEWMAC Academic All-Conference Team, while the squad garnered CSCAA Scholar All-America honors once again. The Lyons concluded the Fall 2016 semester with a grade point average that ranked among the top-10 of all teams recognized in Division III – boasting a mark of 3.56. Additionally, Kuenning was named to the 2016-17 NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team for swimming & diving.
• Finished fourth at the Seven Sisters Championships
• Ninth overall at NEWMAC Championships
• NEWMAC Academic All-Conference – Delany Berry '19, Emily Craig '17, Anne Kuenning '17, Amy Lim '18, Rachel Polfer '18, Katie Tyler '17 and Cailin Van Nevel '18.
