NORTON, Mass. – Junior diver Morgen Coughlin-Doyle (Topsham, Maine) and classmates Reese Hartmann (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Katie Walz (Bellevue, Wash.) each won a pair of events, but it wasn't enough to keep visiting United States Coast Guard Academy women's swimming & diving team from pulling off a 159-135 comeback victory over Wheaton College (Mass.) this evening at Balfour Natatorium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 3-2 on the season, while the Bears improve to 1-1.
Both teams won eight events apiece, but Coast Guard posted a pair of 1-2-3 event sweeps that proved to be the difference in the meet.
First year Megan Doubrava (Aurora, Colo.) won three events to score a meet-high 27 points to lead the Bears.
Wheaton picked up 13 points in the 200-yard backstroke after a first-place effort from Hartmann with a time of 2:09.81, while sophomore Garin Stone (Barrington, R.I.) finished second to give the Lyons a 100-85 lead after 10 events. The Bears matched the 1-2 finish in the 200-yard breaststroke behind a winning time of 2:28.19 from junior Ellie Hiestand (Telford, Pa.) and a second-place showing from senior Rylie Brick (Claremont, Calif.) to cut the deficit to 106-98.
Coast Guard took all three of the top spots in the 500-yard freestyle, led by a mark of 5:20.73 from Doubrava with first year Zoe Suhajda (Colorado Springs, Colo.) close behind at 5:21.83. The Bears pulled ahead for good with a count of 114-109 following the event. Wheaton later put itself into striking distance after Coughlin-Doyle won on the three-meter diving board with a tally of 263.32 points and three more points from senior Bella Barrett (Wakefield, Mass.) to close within 130-128.
Coast Guard scored the knock-out punch when it claimed the top three places in the 400-yard individual medley to secure the meet with a 146-131 advantage heading into the final relay. Doubrava sparked the second 1-2-3 sweep after winning her third event of the night with a time of 4:39.75, followed by a second-place finish from junior Tailyn Schaufelberger (Austin, Texas) at 4:41.74.
Coughlin-Doyle led the Lyons with a pair of wins on the diving boards. She also won on the one-meter board with a score of 242.62, while Hartmann added another win to her night with a time of 59.71 to top the field in the 100-yard backstroke. Walz finished with 22 points after placing first in the 50-yard freestyle (24.06) and the 100-yard freestyle (53.84) to go with a second-place showing in the 100-yard butterfly on a time of 58.63. Senior Meghan Dickinson (North Kingstown, R.I.) tallied 12 points for Wheaton with a win in the 100-yard breaststroke following a time of 1:08.20 and a third-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Doubrava also placed first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:10.67. Junior Grace Keogh (Erie, Colo.) won a pair of races for the Bears with top times in the 200-yard freestyle (1:58.06) and the 100-yard butterfly (58.26). Hiestand added a third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke to give her 12 points, while first year Jaida Lippy (Phoenix, Ariz.) won the 1000-yard freestyle with a mark of 10:56.45, before touching third in the 500-yard freestyle.
The teams split the relays for the night. The Lyons opened the meet with a win in the 200-yard medley relay behind Hartmann's lead backstroke, followed by Dickinson in the breaststroke, junior Alexa DiCenso (Methuen, Mass.) in the butterfly and senior Amelia Butler (New York, N.Y.) in the freestyle anchor to combine on a time of 1:49.68.
Coast Guard captured the 200-yard freestyle relay in a furious finish with Keogh pulling ahead in the final lap to give the Bears a win by just six one-hundredths of a second on a time of 3:37.64 to close the meet. Sophomore Masen Karsten (San Luis Capistrano, Calif.) led off, followed by Lippy and Hiestand, before Keogh capped the race.
Wheaton travels to Springfield, Mass. to compete against Springfield College and Keene State College tomorrow in a double-dual meet at 12:00 p.m., while the Bears return to the pool tomorrow when they head to Bristol, R.I. to take on Roger Williams University at 1:00 p.m.
