Williams Extends Lead After Day Two at Women's Swimming & Diving Championship
Courtesy Wesleyan Sports Information
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MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - Williams College dominated the second day of the 2008 NESCAC Women's Swimming & Diving Championships in search of its eighth straight conference crown. Leading by 164.5 points after the first day, Williams nearly doubled its margin over second-place Middlebury by adding 514 points to its total to stand at 1244 points. Middlebury is 305.5 back with 938.5, followed closely by Amherst with 935.5 as the battle for second place looks to be a dog fight. A pack of five teams are crowded within 45 points of each other for places four through eight, adding more excitement to the final outcome tomorrow as the three-day affair draws to a close.
Four individuals became NESCAC champions for a second time in this 2008 meet with three of them successfully defending their titles from a year ago. Repeating as a winner in the 100-yard backstroke for a second year was Amherst senior Brittany Sasser. She also captured the 200 individual medley on Friday. Middlebury senior Marika Ross added the 100-yard butterfly title to her credits for a second consecutive year to go along with her 50 fly crown yesterday. Kelly Norsworthy, a senior from Colby, won the 100-yard breaststroke for the second year in a row, something she accomplished the day before in the 50 breast.
Newcomer Kendra Stern, a first year student at Amherst, had the day's greatest accomplishment when she won the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:49.18, becoming the first NESCAC woman in history to get below the 1:50 mark. She eclipsed the previous NESCAC record of 1:50.32 set by her sister Meaghan for Amherst in winning last year's title. Meaghan, a junior, placed second three seconds behind her sister this year. The two combined with Sasser and junior Alex Lee to win the 800 free relay in a NESCAC meet-record time of 7:30.29.
Williams had three winners on the day - first year Ryan McChesney in the 1000 free, junior Amanda Nicholson in the 400 individual medley and the 200 medley relay squad of freshman Olivia Card-Childers, junior Courtney Asher, first year Nancy McInerney and sophomore Lisa Cucolo.
