NEW LONDON, N.H. – In a competitive collegiate double dual meet, the Regis College women's swimming and diving team defeated host Colby-Sawyer College, 146-117, but lost to Simmons University, 187-107, Saturday afternoon at the Knight Natatorium.
The Pride got off to a strong start, winning the 200 medley relay thanks to the quartet of Sarah Leonard (Brockton, Mass.), Julia Burke (North Andover, Mass.), Alexa Lancisi (Milford, Mass.), and Jessica Zernitsky (Newton, Mass.) posting a time of 1:58.39.
Leonard won two events individually, touching the wall first in the 50 backstroke with a season-best time of 28.66 seconds, almost two full seconds faster than her nearest competitor. After a third-place finish in the 50 freestyle in 26.42 seconds, she cruised to a 2.84-second victory in the 100 backstroke with a mark of 1:03.62.
The other overall event victory for the Pride came from Burke, as she won the 50 breaststroke with a time of 33.85 seconds. Burke just missed another win by 1/10th of a second, as she finished second in the 100 breaststroke with a season-best time of 1:13.89.
Thalia Bowie (Lexington, Mass.) finished second in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 12:24.49. After touching the wall third in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:10.28, sophomore Kyleigh Boatwright (Roseville, Calif.) earned a second-place finish in the 100 freestyle at 59.01 seconds.
In the only session of one-meter diving, Elisabeth McQuaid (Marlborough, Mass.) placed second with a six-dive score of 207.30. Zernitsky also nearly came up with a victory, completing the 50 butterfly in 29.16 seconds, just 11/100ths of a second behind the winner.
Regis College (8-2 in dual meets) concludes the regular season with a contest at Elms College next Saturday, Jan. 18, beginning at 10 a.m. The Pride will then prepare for the GNAC Championships Jan. 31-Feb. 2 and the NEISDA Championships Feb. 13-16.