Engineers Swim Past Tufts, 162-138
Jan. 20, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Senior Katherine Thornton won three events and swam to a strong NCAA "B" cut in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:31.32 to help propel MIT to victory over Tufts University, 162-138, on Saturday afternoon in the Zesiger Pool. The impressive 1650 time places her sixth among Div. III swimmers in the country in that event.
The Engineers moved to 8-1 with the victory, while the Jumbos dropped to 5-3.
Thornton picked up individual victories in both the 1000-yard (10:31.96) and the 500-yard (5:12.16) freestyle events and was also part of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay team along with freshman Ashley Pinchinat, junior Sasha Brophy and senior Stephanie Sidelko, which touched the wall with a time of 3:46.66. The El Cajon, Calif., native outpaced her closest competitor in the 1000-yard freestyle by more than 30 seconds.
Head coach Dawn Gerken was thrilled with the senior's performance, saying, "Kate Thornton's mile today was a spectacular swim. She has been training incredibly well this year and has the confidence and talent to be a force at the national level."
Junior diver Doria Holbrook picked up the victory in the three-meter diving competition in style by breaking the Institute record for six dives with a score of 349.30. The co-captain is currently ranked No. 1 in Div. III for the event.
Sophomore Jen Chao led 1-2 finishes for the Engineers in a pair of butterfly events, as she touched the wall ahead of all other swimmers in both the 100-yard (1:02.23) and the 200-yard (2:16.19). Priya Parayanthal picked up second-place in the 100-yard (1:02.51) while Nicole O'Keeffe grabbed the number two spot in the 200-yard (2:18.69).
Stephanie Brown matched Chao's feat, taking first-place in 1-2 Tech finishes in both the 100-yard (1:03.96) and 200-yard (2:16.98) backstroke events. Parayanthal was next in the 100-yard (1:04.72) while Chao herself was second best in the 200-yard (2:18.62).
Other individual winners for the Cardinal and Gray included Brophy, who won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:58.94, and O'Keeffe, whose time of 2:34.00 in the 200-yard breaststroke was good enough to garner maximum points.
MIT's other victory came in the 200-yard medley relay in which the team of Ellie Souganidis, Parayanthal, O'Keeffe and Sidelko was quickest with a mark of 1:54.72.
Senior Chloe Young-Hyman was Tufts' top competitor, picking up a trio of victories in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.11) and both the 50-yard (25.36) and the 100-yard (54.73) freestyle events.
The Engineers will return to the water on Saturday, Jan. 27, when they travel to Amherst College to take on the Lord Jeffs in a meet that will begin at 1:00 p.m. The Jumbos will next compete when they host Bates College and Wheaton College that same day at 12:00 p.m.
