Williams Rocks Amherst at Home

Among the greatest rivalries in Division III is the rivalry between Williams and Amherst. In the meet last weekend with Williams facing off against Amherst at home, the Ephs claimed the victory 202-72. In no event did one of Williams’ swimmers finish outside of scoring position (unless swimming exhibition) and the Ephs won all but two events.

The lone victor for the Jeffs was Emily Hyde who captured titles in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. Hyde just held off the Ephs’ Breanna Nguyen in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in at 1:06.98. Nguyen was 1:07.07. In the 200 breast, Hyde claimed a decisive victory by nearly two seconds, posting a 2:24.62 to finish ahead of Nguyen yet again (2:26.17).

For the rest of the meet, it was the Ephs show. Williams made 1-2 showings in nine of the 16 events contested and in several cases posted 1-2-3 or even 1-2-3-4 (with the fourth swimmer being exhibition) results.

William’s premier freestyler, Sarah Thompson, led the Ephs’ charge in the 200 freestyle going 1-2 with teammate Emma Waddell. Thompson’s final time was 1:53.88, just about a second ahead of Waddell at 1:54.83. Thompson went on to win the 500 freestyle, posting a 5:02.19 – a solid dual meet time – to lead a quartet of Ephs to the wall. While not currently top 16 in the 500, Thompson is ranked as the fourth fastest 1000 freestyler  in the division at this time. (The 1000 is not an NCAA event, but the NESCAC doesn’t race the full 1650 during most of the year.) However, she’s always had something special in the tank come NCAA time. Finishing second in 5:05.10 was teammate Megan Pierce. 

Thompson and Pierce faced off again in the 200 IM, where Pierce claimed the victory, posting a 2:07.17 for the win. That time puts Pierce on the top 16 list in the event, at 13th. Quite a dual meet swim! Thompson’s runner up showing came in at 2:07.99. Pierce’s other individual event was the 200 butterfly which she claimed by three seconds, finishing in a 2:05.78 to beat runner up Sarah Conklin of Amherst (2:08.33).

Waddell took first in the 100 butterfly, posting a 56.44 for the win. With that time, she moves to the seventh fastest in the event in DIII. As a freshman, it’ll be interesting to see how Waddell performs at NESCACs and then again at the NCAA meet. She certainly seems to have the early speed, though whether she’ll compete in the 100 fly, the 200 free or both is an interesting question. Conklin claimed the runner up position for the Jeffs in 57.17. That’s less than a tenth outside top 16 position in the division.

In both diving events Ephs Ari Ross and Michelle Higgins finished 1-2. On 3 meter, Ross posted a score of 271.80 while Higgins posted 252.23. On 1 meter, Ross posted a 270.75, with Higgins tallying 265.58. The Jeffs had no divers.

For compete meet results, click here. 

The Ephs will be back in the pool in two days for back-to-back duals. On Friday (Jan 23) they face off against MIT. On Saturday (Jan 24) they will race at Middlebury.

The Jeffs return to the pool for their own back-to-back duals the following weekend. Saturday, January 31st they’ll face MIT and then Sunday, February 1st they race at Springfield.