WATERVILLE, Maine -- The Bates women's 800-yard freestyle relay team made history on the first night of the NESCAC Championships on Thursday, recording an NCAA "B" Cut time and breaking the program record in the event along the way.
The "A" team of senior
Maya Reynoso Williams (Somerville, Mass.), senior captain
Caroline Sweeney (New Cannan, Conn.), first-year
Sophia Carrai (Eugene, Ore.) and sophomore
Grace Wenger (Hanover, N.H.) combined to race to the finish in 7:29.60, breaking the previous team record of 7:30.38 set at the 2015 NCAA Championships by
Caroline Depew '16,
Nell Houde '18,
Julia Smachlo '17, and
Sara Daher '17.
Tufts won the race in a meet record time of 7:18.26. The Bates "A" team took fifth place out of 22 teams, just behind fourth-place Conn. College (7:28.94), and well ahead of sixth-place Middlebury (7:39.99), earning 50 points for the Bobcats.
Bates got a strong performance from the "B" relay team as well. Sophomore
Natalie Young (Windham, N.H.), first-year
Sophie Cassily (Rye, N.H.), first-year
Morgan Porter (Scarborough, Maine), and first-year
Stephanie Tropper (Solon, Ohio) combined to race to the finish in 7:41.59, good for 14th place and 20 meet points.
Combined, the Bobcats scored 70 points in the event, tied for third most in the conference with Conn. College and Amherst.
Friday is the first full day of the NESCAC Championships, with prelims at 10am and finals at 6pm.
