WORCESTER -- The WPI women's swimming and diving team concluded the second day of the Menck Invite in a strong fashion. The second day of a home and away contest, the Engineers played host to Roger Williams, which hosted the first day of competition. The meet is named after Robert "Bob" Menck to recognize his contribution as an official to the WPI Swim program and to swimming in New England, at large.
Today's events saw the finals of yesterday's events as well as the timed finals of the 200 of stroke, the 200/400 IM, the 500/1000 free as well as the ever exciting 25s.
The Women's team kicked thing off with a strong 1-3 finish in the 400 Free Relay, improving upon their 2-3 finish, yesterday. The team of Senior
Kristina MacLeod (Jackson, WY)
Veronica Finucane-Tuccio (Excelsior, MN),
Sarah Kang (Richmond, VA) and senior
Lada DiMascolo (Puyallup, WA) dropped nearly 7 seconds from yesterday's The B Relay of
Audrey Dino (St. Louis, MO), senior
Leah Kolb (Canton, MI),
Kaitlyn Grove (Cheshire, CT) and
Katrina Waite (Falmouth, ME) dropped over 6 seconds to secure the bronze.
A similar story played out in the 200 Free Relay. After placing 2nd and 4th yesterday, in the prelims the Engineers turned up the heat and went 1-2 in today's final. Kolb, Fincuane-Tuccio, and Macleod were joined by Waite as the foursome hit the wall in 1:42.37. The quartet of Dino, Dimascolo, Senior
Anna Callaghan (Yorktown Heights, NY), and Kang were just .55 behind as they claimed second in 1:42.92.
Unsurprisingly, the 200 Medley saw a similar story as the A relay jumped from the 2nd seed into 1st place as the squad of Dino,
Milena Whitney (Bedford, NH), Kang and Macleod sliced nearly 4 seconds off their result yesterday to take the win in a time of 1:51.61.
Accolades were not contained to just the relays, as several individuals claimed top honors. Kang was the star of the 500 as she surged to the win in a season best time of 5:21.18, placing ahead of fellow first year
Allie Marvell (Nashua, NH). Kang also took top honors in the 25 Fly, nearly cracking the 12 second barrier, as she finished in 12.05. Kang also took 2nd place in the 50 fly, recording a result of 27.02. 2nd place popped up again for Kang, as they finished runner-up in the 25 free (11.63) and in the 100 IM (1:03.41).
Kang's runner-up finish in the 100 IM was to her teammate Dimascolo. The senior from Washington, posted the only sub-1:00 time as they swam a winning time of 59.92, a mark that adds Dimascolo name, once again to the record board. Dimascolo's win was not the only strong swim by a senior on Senior Day.
After a pre-meet ceremony in which the seniors received a flower and gift from the team they showed off their leadership and swimming skills by raking in the wins. Macleod dropped over a second in the 100 free (54.46) to claim victory. DIno, her teammate on several relays, was the highest placed WPI finisher in the 50 back, taking 3rd in 28.70 and saw the top of the podium in the 200 backstroke, as she was the fastest Women's team finisher. Fellow senior
Natalie Carrington (Orange, CT) placed just one spot behind her, taking the silver in 2:36.23. Fellow senior
Taylor Walker (Townsend, MA) had a top 5 finish and season best time in the 500 free, hitting the wall in 6:08.90.
On the diving boards, Junior
Katrina Yurista (Laramie, WY) placed 1st in both disciplines scoring 437.99 points over 11 dives on the 1m and 427.94 on the 3m.
With the conclusion of the Invite, the WPI Engineers have ended their regular season slate of meets. The Engineers are next in action with a select team competing at the GNAC Championships on the 7th-9th of February, while those named to the Conference roster, will next race as WPI host the NEWMAC Championships from the 20th-23rd of February.
Results
