February 9, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hannah Shalett
(203) 417-3222

Smith Swimming and Diving Defeats Mount Holyoke

Northampton, MA: The Pioneers defeated NEWMAC opponent Mount Holyoke College in a duel meet 170-117. With the win Smith' duel meet record improved to 4-4 on the season.

Smith was led by strong performances by Marly Pineda (Bosque Farms, NM), Lily Seidman (Westfield, IN), and Reyna Levine (Kalamazoo, MI). Pineda took first place in the 1000 free with a time of 11:18:34. Additionally, she won the 500 free with a time of 5:29:25. Seidman won the 200 free with a time of 2:02:14 as well as the 200 back with a time of 2:16:60. Seidman also took first place in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:01:68. Levine took first place in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:39:53. She also won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:13:97.

The Pioneers had several other first place finishes in route to their team victory. Christine Dzialo (Belchertown, MA) took first place in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:06:55. Teammate Faith Latella (Douglastown, NY) won the 50 butterfly with a time of 29:17. And Francesca Kotey (Gainesville, FL) took first place in the 100 free with a time of 56:50.

Smith also took home several second place finishes. The 200 medley relay, comprised of Lenora Walter (Santa Ynez, CA), Levine, Rachel Dorset (Stratford, CT), and Kotey took second place with a time of 2:00:49. Walter also took second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:07:27 as well as the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:24:48. Dorset took second in the 50 butterfly with a time of 29:67. Additionally, Kotey took home second in the 50 free with a time of 25:74.

In the diving portion of the meet, there were multiple national qualifying performances. From Smith, Shanti Freitas (Evanston, IL) once again put up national qualifying numbers in both the one and three meter diving events with scores of 251.62 and 287.33 respectively. From Mount Holyoke, Meredith Bartelstein (Glencoe, IL) finished second in both events, qualifying for nationals in the three meter with a score of 256.05.

This meet was Smith's last duel meet of the season, as well as their Senior Night. The team honored seniors Abigail Carr (New York, NY), Thea Douglass (Boston, MA), Freitas, and Pineda with a short ceremony prior to the meet.

Smith returns to action at the NEWMAC championships held at Wellesley College February 22-24.