Pride Women’s Swim & Dive Squad Splits Saturday Double Dual Meet

Pride Women’s Swim & Dive Squad Splits Saturday Double Dual Meet

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College was competitive with defending GNAC swimming and diving champion Simmons University as the Sharks ended up with a 189-107 victory, but the Pride did pick up a dual meet victory over Colby-Sawyer College, 202-51, Saturday afternoon at the Regis Aquatics Center.

The Pride earned three event victories, including both one-meter diving sessions. Elisabeth McQuaid (Marlborough, Mass.) picked up a win in the five-dive event with a score of 172.85, just 1/10th of a point ahead of Sara Manjikian of Simmons. In the six-dive event later in the meet, McQuaid compiled a score of 248.70 points, over 20 points in front of Manjikian.

The lone overall swimming victory for Regis came in the 50 butterfly, as Jessica Zernitsky (Newton, Mass.) finished first in 29.04 seconds, followed by Alexa Lancisi (Milford, Mass.) in second place in 29.90 seconds and Katherine Mariano (Newton, Mass.) in fourth place in 30.04 seconds.

Regis came close in several other events, starting with the meet-opening 200 medley relay, as the quartet of Sarah Leonard (Brockton, Mass.), Kyleigh Boatwright (Roseville, Calif.), Lancisi, and Zernitsky posted a time of 1:58.26, just 43/100ths of a second behind Simmons's top relay squad. In the 50 backstroke, Leonard finished second in 29.06 seconds, just 1/100th of a second behind Jinnae Jang of Colby-Sawyer.

In the 50 breaststroke, Julia Burke (North Andover, Mass.) finished just 3/10ths of a second behind Jason Erichsen of Simmons with a season-best time of 34.54 seconds. Zernitsky was only 17/100ths of a second behind the Sharks' Kerry Fleming in the 50 freestyle as she posted a mark of 26.14 seconds, and then Boatwright finished second in the 100 freestyle by less than a second with a time of 58.06 seconds.

Leonard also finished second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:04.20, and then she joined Zernitsky, Gloria Sutton (Suffield, Conn.), and Boatwright for a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:48.64.

Simmons swimmers won nine individual events, led by Erichsen, Fleming, and Aine Scholand with two victories apiece. Besides Jang, Kelsey Brown picked up an event victory for Colby-Sawyer with a win in the 100 butterfly by 2.6 seconds.

Regis (6-3 in dual meets) closes the regular season next Saturday, Jan. 19, against Elms College at the Regis Aquatics Center starting at 12 p.m.