NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's swimming & diving team was defeated by visiting Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 186.5-91.5, this evening at Balfour Natatorium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 3-8 on the season, while the Engineers improve to 6-10.
WPI won 12 of 16 events, including 11 individual races.
Wheaton was led by first year diver Ella Kent (Framingham, Mass.), who placed first on both boards. The rookie scored 172.20 points to own the one-meter board and totaled 125.32 points to win on the three-meter board.
The Lyons' 400-yard medley relay opened the night with a win for the home blue and white behind senior Talia Dalton's (Andover, Minn.) lead backstroke, followed by classmate Emma Claire Lambert-Shemo (Cleveland, Ohio) in the breaststroke, junior Kaleigh Morton (Milford, Conn.) in the butterfly and junior Anna St. Jean (Alexandria, Va.) in the freestyle anchor to contribute to a time of 4:14.06.
Lambert-Shemo scored 13 points, including a win in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time off 1:08.94 in addition to a runner-up performance in the 200-yard breaststroke behind a time of 2:31.32. Senior Vivian Van Holland (Excelsior, Minn.) turned in a pair of second-place finishes in the 1000-yard freestyle (11:03.89) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:25.59) touching just tenths of a second behind the winner in both races. Dalton picked up points with a second-place effort in the 200-yard backstroke (2:19.08) and was fourth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:06.77.
Sophomore Sarah Kang (Richmond, Va.) and first year Amber Jacobs (Cedar Falls, Iowa) each won three events to lead WPI. Kang won both backstroke events and added a top finish in the 100-yard butterfly for the Engineers. She touched the wall at 1:00.88 and 2:08.31 in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke races, respectively, before winning the 100-yard butterfly with a mark of 1:00.26. Jacobs dominated the distance events, placing first in the 1000-yard freestyle (11:03.44) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:25.11), while adding a win in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:55.83.
First year Mallory LaPointe (Saint Johns, Fla.) was also undefeated in her races for WPI, posting a winning clip of 1:59.84 in the 200-yard freestyle, before taking the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.48. First year Jasmine Lam (Dracut, Mass.) racked up 16.5 points behind a winning effort in the 200-yard breaststroke on a time of 2:30.68 and second place showings in the 200-yard butterfly (2:22.99) and the 400-IM (5:00.07). Sophomore Kate Creusere (Las Cruces, N.M.) tallied 16 points after placing first in the 200-yard butterfly with a mark of 2:19.61 as part of four 1-2-3 sweeps on the night for the visitors. She also finished second in the 200-yard freestyle (2:03.52) and third in the 500-yard freestyle (5:30.64.).
LaPointe, junior Katrina Waite (Falmouth, Maine), sophomore Veronica Finucane-Tuccio (Excelsior, Minn.) and sophomore Sophie Robinson (Westboro, Mass.) combined on a winning time of 1:43.98 to close the meet in the 200-yard freestyle relay for the Engineers.
Wheaton competes again on Sunday, January 25 when it hosts Connecticut College and Trinity College (Conn.) at 12:00 p.m. on Senior Day at Balfour Natatorium.
