MIT Crowned NEWMAC Women's Swimming Champions

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – For the first time in school history, MIT took home top honors at the NEWMAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. With their win, the Engineers put an end to Springfield College's 10-year reign as league champions. Over the course of the weekend, nine NEWMAC Championship records fell at the Mount Holyoke College Natatorium.

MIT touched the wall first nine times throughout the weekend en route to 917.5 points. The Engineers were followed by Springfield (894.5), the Coast Guard Academy (446), Wheaton College (359.5), Wellesley College (340), Clark University (299.5), WPI (202), Smith College (188), Babson College (115) and Mount Holyoke (113).  

Tech led by just 27 points heading into the final day of competition, and the MIT tandem of Katelyn Rossick and Christy Rogers occupied the top two spots in the 200-yard backstroke early in Sunday's competition. The duo each provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship with their times of 2:06.18 and 2:06.84, respectively. They were closely followed by teammate Kathryn Greskoff (2:08.90).

Tech freshman Morganne Klein finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 2:23.15, good enough to qualify for an NCAA B Cut. MIT added to its point total in the 200-yard butterfly, nabbing the top two positions once again. This time, it was Joanna Yeh with her NCAA "B" cut time of 2:08.36 and Anna Kokensparger (2:08.80).

With her time of 17:13.53, Coast Guard's Kimberly Shadwick grabbed top honors in the 1,650-yard freestyle for the third year in a row. She was followed by Springfield's Meghan Sisson (17:31.49) and MIT's Sarah Weiss (17:38.57). All three athletes met the NCAA "B" cut standards with their times.

In the penultimate event of the night, MIT senior diver Beth Stavely took second in the three meter diving competition with an NCAA B Cut score of 479.70.

Springfield closed out the weekend with a record breaking victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay, but Yeh, Sydney Giblin, Elina Hu and Kokensparger took second place for MIT with a time of 3:30.40. The Tech relay team provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship in the event and more importantly, secured the championship for the Crimson and Gray.

At the conclusion of this Sunday's final session, Springfield's Kellie Pennington was honored with both the NEWMAC Swimmer of the Year and Rookie of the Year Awards. The first year won three individual events and also figured in on a pair of relay victories. Pennington's most impressive performance of the weekend came in the 100-yard freestyle, where she blasted the NEWMAC Open and Championship records and also met the NCAA "A" cut with her time of 50.89.

Clark's Eileen Garcia took home NEWMAC Diver of the Year accolades for the second year in a row after defending her titles in both the one and three-meter competitions. The junior recorded a score of 476.00 off the one-meter board and followed it up with a tally of 531.65 off the 3-meter board.

2011 NEWMAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championship

Final Team Standings
1. MIT – 917.5
2. Springfield College – 894.5
3. Coast Guard Academy – 446
4. Wheaton College – 359.5
5. Wellesley College – 340
6. Clark University – 299.5
7. WPI – 202
8. Smith College – 188
9. Babson College – 115
10. Mount Holyoke College – 113

2011 NEWMAC Women's Swimming and Diving All-Conference Teams
(Event Winners Earn First Team All-Conference)

! - NEWMAC Championship record
^ - NEWMAC Open record
@ - NCAA "A" standard
& - NCAA "B" standard