MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – By the slimmest of margins – 0.46 seconds to be exact, the Wesleyan women's swimming & diving team managed to touch the line just in front of the Bantams in the final event of the day, securing just enough points to defeat Trinity, 154-146, in a thriller on Wednesday afternoon from the Wesleyan Natatorium. Wesleyan (5-5) improves to 5-0 so far in 2022, recording the team's longest win streak since the 2016-17 season. After seeing four straight meets canceled due to COVID, Trinity (2-2) was back in the pool for the first time since December 4.
In the biggest race of the day, the winner of the dual meet came down to the 200 free relay as the Cardinals' top team of
Megan Bauerle '24,
Sarah Schou '23,
Izzy Pennington '24 and
Mengmeng Gibbs '22 needed a strong showing to secure the win for Wesleyan. Trailing after the first leg, Wesleyan made up significant group in the second leg and led by more than a second heading into the final sprint. As the Bantam group was closing in, Gibbs managed a touch just 0.46 seconds in front of Trinity's team at 1:40.38 to send the Cardinals home with the win.
Helping turn in some solid efforts in the lead-up to the meet-deciding relay,
Olivia Stevenson '25 made hay in the distance events as she won both the 500 and 1000 free to set the tone in the early going. She started with a 10:59.03 in the 1000 free to take first place by over four seconds faster the runner-up Julianna Rieker (Trinity). Later in the day, Stevenson bested a group of six competitors in the 500 free, taking the top spot with a time of 5:24.69.
It was another Cardinal first-year,
Ainsley Dodson '25, who had a flair for the dramatic on the day as she was locked in a battle against Addison Dunham and Re Umholtz throughout the 200 free. Up until the last turn where Dodson made up ground on both Dunham and Umholtz, passing each of them and touching just 0.01 seconds before Dunham to take first place in the event.
Gibbs followed suit with another close win, this time in the 100 breast as the senior bested Marissa Lopez-Ona (Trinity) with a strong finish, overcoming a deficit heading into the last turn until she touched the wall at 1:09.28, just ahead of Lopez-Ona who clocked in at 1:09.42.
Backing up the Cardinals was a sweep of the two diving events as
Zoe Paglia '23 claimed first place just ahead of her two teammates
Talia Lanckton '22 and
Carolina Crosby '25 as Wesleyan claimed first, second and third in the 1 meter. Paglia earned the top spot with a mark of 204.66 while Lanckton was runner-up with a score of 200.25 and Crosby was right behind with 198.90 to take third.
In the 3 meter, it was Lanckton who dominated with a score of 196.12 as the senior placed first. Crosby was runner-up with a 166.57 to complete the Wesleyan domination in the diving events.
Wesleyan heads on the road for a big meet on Saturday, January 22 as the Cardinals will take on Colby in Waterville, Maine which is the site of the 2022 NESCAC Championships. Competition is set to begin at 12:00 PM.
