POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 16, 2016) — The Vassar College women's swimming and diving team will travel to Clinton, NY for two dual meets versus Hamilton College and the Rochester Institute of Technology. First race is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Meet Details
Opponents: Hamilton College (3-1), RIT (4-2, 1-1 Liberty)
Links:
(Vassar Women's Swimming Home Page) (Roster) (Schedule)
Site: Clinton, NY
Facility: Bristol Pool
Date: January 16, 2016
Time: 1:00 p.m. Saturday
Live Coverage: N/A
Twitter Coverage: @VassarSwimDive
What To Look For
Vassar will have tough competition come Saturday when it takes on Hamilton and RIT. Both teams have swum extremely well this season. The Hamilton Continentals have been stellar, shining in many of their outings. Hamilton has taken first place in all four of its invitationals and has won all but one of its meets this season. The RIT Tigers have also found success this season, earning four wins in six tries — three of those victories coming on the road. The Brewers look for another win after splitting the tri-meet between Mount Holyoke College and Trinity College on Thursday.
A Look At The Brewers
- Vassar's schedule is loaded with competition. In the month of December, the Brewers played in just one invitational, the Liberty League Championships on Dec. 4-5. But by the end of January, the Brewers will have competed in four meets and three invitationals.
- The Brewers (4-3, 2-1 Liberty) topped the Trinity College Bantams, 195-84, and fell to the Mount Holyoke College Lyons, 163-136, on Thursday as part of a tri-meet in South Hadley, MA.
- Freshman Kael Ragnini (Barrington, IL/Barrington) performed well in the 1,000 freestyle Thursday, finishing second with a 11:14.40 time. Ragnini looked strong through the water, and swam her second-fastest 50 meters on the last lap, a 33:08 to end the race.
- Freshman Sammy Stone (Wake Forest, NC/Cardinal Gibbons) also shined in Massachusetts, picking up a victory Thursday in the 200 free, as she won by over six seconds with a time of 1:58.09. Stone later notched another win — this time in the 100 free with a time of 55.87. She has now chalked up four times less than 56 seconds this season for Vassar.
- In diving, freshman Mia Moraru (Meriden, CT/Hamden Hall Country Day School), senior Maya Pruitt (New York, NY/LaGuardia Music Art) and Nora Kyrkjebo (Singapore/United World College of Southeast Asia) went 1-2-3 in the 3-meter dive. Moraru registered 220 points, as Pruitt finished with 215.20 and Kyrkjebo posted 196 points.
- Prior to Thursday's meet, the Brewers last raced at the Aqua Crest Atomic Fireball Meet in Delray Beach, FL.
- Vassar last competed in New York in early December when it placed third of 10 teams in the Liberty League Championships. Freshman swimmers were phenomenal at the event, as Haley Schultz (Fayetteville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) set the Vassar school record with a 1:08.09 time in the 100-yard breastroke, while Sammy Stone (Wake Forest, NC/Cardinal Gibbons) registered 209 points in her seven swims.
- Junior Julia Cunningham (Yardley, PA/Peddie School) earned All-Liberty League Second Team in her final individual swim in the Liberty League Championships, taking second in the 200 Fly with a 2:07.36 time, good for 28 points.
- Aside the Vassar Spring Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 30, the rest of Vassar's competitions will be held on the road this season.
A Look At The Hamilton College Continentals
- The Continentals' exceptional season is represented by their 3-1 record. They've won all but one of their meets and placed first in all four of their invitationals, most recently the Founders' Invitational in Islamorada, FL.
- The races the Continentals won at the Founders' Invitational on Saturday were all relays, including the 200-meter butterfly (2:02.86), 200 backstroke (2:13.41), 200 breaststroke (2:26.92), 500 freestyle (5:22.87), 200 medley (2:10.29), 400 medley (4:46.83) and 200 free relay (1:52.41).
- In Hamilton's most recent meet Jan. 3, the Continentals came up victorious against the Wesleyan University Cardinals at Bristol Pool. Sarah Hooper finished first in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle with times of 25.02 and 54.89, respectively.
- Hamilton's lone loss came in its opener versus Wellesley College. That day the Continentals breezed by the Trinity Bantams, 241-47, but fell to the Wellesley Blue, 169-131, in the tri-meet.
A Look At The Rochester Institute Of Technology Tigers
- The Tigers (4-2) enjoyed a four-race winning streak, stretching from October to November, against Oswega State, Alfred University, Fredonia State University and St. Lawrence University.
- RIT's two losses this season came at the hands of RPI in its October opener and Division II Le Moyne College in its most recent match Nov. 14. The Tigers kept it close in their loss to the Le Moyne Dolphins, falling by just eight points, 154-146.
- RIT most recently competed in early December at the Liberty League Championship at RPI and Union, finishing fourth of 10 teams with a total of 714 points in the two-day event.
- Swimmer Natalie Snyder picked up the Tigers' lone win in the Championship, winning the 1-meter dive with a score of 423.55 points. She also placed fourth in the 3-meter dive (432.55).
- Sedera Zbranak earned four top-five finishes on the second day of the Championship, placing fourth in the 200-yard medley (1:52.80), fifth in the 100-yard butterfly (59.45) and second in both the 200-yard backstroke (2:08.78) and 100-yard backstroke (58.63).
- The Tigers haven't competed in more than a month, so they're hoping to be fresh and ready to go against Vassar and Hamilton on Saturday.
Up Next
The Vassar College women's swimming and diving team will compete again in the Seven Sisters Championships on Saturday, Jan. 23 and Sunday, Jan. 24. The timing of event is to be determined, but the races will take place in Wellesley, MA. The Brewers return to Poughkeepsie for their final home meet Saturday, Jan. 30 to host the Vassar Sprint Invitational at 1 p.m.
—VASSAR—
