Sophomore diver Julia Wright (Pomfret, VT/Northfield Mount Hermon School) notched a provisional mark for the NCAA Championship to highlight the Wheaton College swimming&diving teams' double-dual meets at Tufts University's Hamilton Pool on Saturday.
The Lyon women, now 8-5, posted a 151-147 win over Bates College but suffered a 181-119 setback to the Jumbos, while Wheaton's men lost 185-99 against the Bobcats and 245-51 to the hosts. The Blue and White has one win in 14 decisions this season.
Wright recorded 265.95 points during the three-meter dive, and she needs to meet the NCAA Championship standard once more to qualify for consideration for the national meet, something she has already done this winter from the one-meter platform. During the one-meter event, Wright tallied 246.70 points while placing second, just 5.45 points short of the winner.
Wheaton athletes took the top two spots during the 100-yard breaststroke, as junior Nicole Zais (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) won in a time of 1:09.30 and was followed by freshman Kirstie Parkinson (Singapore, Singapore/Singapore American School). Zais was also second in the 50-yard freestyle while anchoring the second-place 200 free relay quartet.
Joining Zais during the relay were junior Dania Piscetta (Belmont, NH/Belmont), sophomore Sarah Miller (Madison, NJ/Madison) and freshman Elle Van Cott (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central). Piscetta notched two other runner-up finishes during the 100 free and 100-yard butterfly.
Miller swam for the third-place 200-yard medley relay foursome, siding with senior Iris Meehan (Bar Harbor, ME/Mount Desert Island), junior Stephany Perkins (Monmouth, ME/Monmouth Academy) and sophomore Taryn Brosnan (Westford, MA/Academy of Notre Dame). Freshman Caroline Isaacs (San Jose, CA/Archbishop Mitty) was third for the Lyons during the 400-yard individual medley, finishing 0.10 seconds ahead of senior Stephanie Conelias (Cheshire, CT/Cheshire).
Junior Zach Fichman-Klein (North Attleboro, MA/North Attleboro) had the men's team's top showings, taking second in both the 50- and 100-yard butterfly races. Sophomore Charles Western (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) was fourth in the 100 fly.
Fichman-Klein also joined juniors Sam Dean-Lee (Rocky Hill, CT/Xavier) and Ben Sabol (Saint Petersburg, FL/Shorecrest Prep) and freshman Sam Neill (Ludlow, MA/Belchertown) for a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Junior Jonathan Gold (West Harrison, NY/Fordham Prep) was fourth in the three-meter dive, and sophomore Andrew Oliveri (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) followed suit in the 50-yard backstroke.
Neill was fifth in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, Sabol was fifth in the 100-yard backstroke, and sophomore Christian Woods (Claremont, CA/Webb School of California) notched a fifth-place showing in the 500 free. During the 200 free relay, Dean-Lee, Neill, Sabol and sophomore Devon Best (Brentwood, TN/Ravenwood) combined to take fifth.
Both Lyon squads return to the Balfour Natatorium pool next weekend for the two-day Wheaton Invitational, which begins on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
