Swimming & Diving Falls to WPI (219-81) and RPI (225-75)

WORCESTER, Mass. - The Simmons College swimming & diving team was defeated by host Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 219-81, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 225-75, this afternoon in a double-dual meet at WPI Sports and Recreation Center in Worcester, Mass. The Sharks' 15-meet win streak comes to an end as they fall to 3-2 on the season, while WPI improves to 4-1 and RPI improves to 2-1. KINGSTON, R.I. -- Sophomore Aine Scholand (Albuquerque, N.M.) broke both the school and meet record in the 500-yard freestyle to help the Simmons College women's swimming & diving team to a second-place showing after the second day of the New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Championship at the Tootell Aquatics Center on the campus of host University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I.
Posted: Nov 04, 2017

WORCESTER, Mass. - The Simmons College swimming & diving team was defeated by host Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 219-81, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 225-75, this afternoon in a double-dual meet at WPI Sports and Recreation Center in Worcester, Mass. The Sharks' 15-meet win streak comes to an end as they fall to 3-2 on the season, while WPI improves to 4-1 and RPI improves to 2-1.

Sophomore Aine Scholand (Albuquerque, N.M.) won the 1000-yard freestyle to lead Simmons, finishing ahead of both WPI and RPI by more than 20 seconds with a mark of 10:42.18. Junior Laura Simpson (Perkiomenville, Pa.) placed third in the event with a time of 11:09.00. Scholand also placed third overall in the 500-yard freestyle, while finishing second to WPI and RPI in head-to-head results with a season-best mark of 5:19.18. Simpson finished fifth overall and third to WPI with a time of 5:29.24.

Junior Jason Erichsen (Banks, Ore.) finished fourth overall in the 200-yard individual medley for the Sharks, but topped all WPI swimmers with a time of 2:21.53. Erichsen earlier placed sixth overall in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:12.79, which was good for third against RPI. The third-year competitor opened the meet for the Sharks, swimming the breaststroke leg of the 400-yard medley relay, while first year Maria Soraghan (East Hampstead, N.H.) led off with the backstroke leg, senior Michaela Morris (Duxbury, Mass.) swam the butterfly length before sophomore Laura List (Bedford, Mass.) swam the freestyle anchor leg to compete a combined time of 4:15.21 to place third overall and second to both WPI and RPI.

First year Anna Leedham (Lowell, Mass.) took third overall in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:18.44 for Simmons, which was good for second against both WPI and RPI, while Morris' time of 2:24.64 was good for third against RPI in the event. Leedham later finished fifth overall in the 100-yard butterfly and second to WPI with a time of 1:02.94. Soraghan turned in a fourth-place effort in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:00.32, which scored as a second-place showing vs. WPI. List posted a pair of fourth-place overall finishes in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events. Her time of 25.84 was good for second against WPI in the 50 and her mark of 57.00 in the 100 put her second against WPI and third against RPI. 

Sophomore Cristina Samaniego (Avon, Conn.) was the Sharks' top diver on the one-meter board, scoring 170.40 points to place seventh overall and fourth to both WPI and RPI. First year Sara Manjikian (Belmont, Mass.) totaled 169.20 points on the three-meter board to place sixth overall and third against WPI.

Simmons closed out the meet by finishing third overall in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:46.71, contributed to by Scholand, Soraghan, senior Natalie Giraldi (Bedford, N.H.) and List.

The Sharks return to the pool on Saturday, November 11 at 1:00 p.m. when they host Wellesley College at the Holmes Sports Center Natatorium.

Scoreboard