South Hadley, Mass. - January 18, 2020 - Behind individual victories from Ashton Bliss (Yorktown, Va.) and Samantha Nemivant (Scottsdale, Ariz.), the Mount Holyoke College swimming and diving team put forth an impressive effort during the first session of the MHC Invitational featuring Wellesley, Smith, Merrimack and Western New England.
Mount Holyoke College is currently second out of the five-team field with 274 points, while Wellesley sits on top with 349.5. Smith College is in third with 265.5, while Merrimack (176) and Western New England (74) round out the group.
Starting the two-day meet off with the 200 freestyle relay, the team of Caitlyn Richmond (Northampton, Mass.), Anais Magner (Ohiwa, New Zealand), Erin Schrama (Taunton, Mass.) and Tamara Mukulu (Nairobi, Kenya) combined for a fourth-place time of 1:46.85. Next, in the 500 freestyle, Bliss was victorious with a time of 5:26.21, while Adrienne Corr (San Diego, Calif.) was fourth with a mark of 5:38.65. Junior Naomi Brown (Bloomington, Ind.) was also fifth in the event with a time of 5:40.02.
In the 200 individual medley, Lauren Leese (Round Rock, Texas) led the Lyons with a time of 2:20.70, while Schrama followed with a 10th-place time of 2:24.23. Richmond had an impressive 50 freestyle, as she touched in 25.75 seconds to take third overall, followed by Mukulu, who was seventh with a time of 26.08 seconds.
Finishing off the swimming portion of the session, Magner, Corr, Leese and Mukulu posted a time of 4:24.43 in the 400 medley relay to collect a fifth-place finish.
On the one-meter board, Nemivant continued her successful senior season with a nationally-qualifying mark of 418.15 to take first overall. Nemivant was followed by Kathryn Murphy (Fairport, N.Y.), who scored a 390.00, while Katie Kolozsvari (Danville, Ind.) was fourth with a score of 375.20.
The two-day meet will resume with a morning session on Sunday, January 19, beginning at 10 a.m.
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