ROCHESTER – In what was one of the best team swims in recent memory for the Brewers, Vassar pushed forward in the team standings at the 2017 Don Richards Invitational to take second place in action from Judson Pool on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology.
The Brewers came into the day sitting in third place after Friday’s action, but had a great day Saturday over the two sessions to post 437 points to jump St. Lawrence University into second place. Host RIT earned the meet title with 693 points. “This was phenomenal weekend for Vassar College Swim & Dive,” said head coach Lisl Prater-Lee. “RIT hosted a great, well-run meet. With most of the Liberty League schools competing this weekend, we had good competition and got a chance to preview our competition for the Liberty League championships in February. On both the women’s and men’s sides, we’ve had some sustained adversity this semester with extended illnesses and other challenges so we are very proud of how the teams came together this weekend and found very real strengths from those challenges.”
The morning started with a bevy of personal and lifetime-bests for the Brewers, as the 200 medley relay of freshman Rhea Randhawa, junior Hayley Schultz, freshman Ellie Kennedy-Wood and freshman Brynn Lautenbacher finished second with a time of 1:51.99, narrowly missing the Vassar school mark in the event.
The “B” relay in the 200 medley relay of freshmen Angharad Healey and Shannon Schrope, along with junior Meg Harrington and senior Cali Corbett, took second among “B” relays with a 1:59.33. The first individual event of the day was the 400 individual medley, and Randhawa put on a masterful performance, winning the race with a lifetime best time of 4:36.58.
Just behind Randhawa was Healey in third place with a season-best time of 4:46.96, while senior Emily McDaniels was sixth after swimming a season-best 5:02.87 to help VC earn a combined 49 points in the event. In the 100 fly, Vassar continued to push towards the top spot in the standings with Lautenbacher taking third with a 1:00.30, while Kennedy-Woods was ninth after posting a 1:03.69.
The 200 freestyle saw freshman Stephanie Kaplan take seventh after chalking up a 2:03.13, followed by season-bests from Corbett (2:11.63) and junior Margaret Reisert (2:27.70). The 100 breaststroke saw all five women score points, led by Schultz finishing second with a season-best time of 1:08.37. Schrope was fourth in a time of 1:08.81, another top time for the season, while Kaplan was seventh overall with a 1:13.85. McDaniels chalked up a massive season-best time by over three seconds with a 1:15.54 for 10th place, and Abby Kirsch was 12th with another season-best of 1:18.34.
The Brewers followed in the 100 backstroke with more top times for the year, as Randhawa was second with a 1:00.26 and sophomore Boese earned the 13th spot in a time of 1:05.79. The morning session finished with the 1650 free, as Healey hammered her lifetime best of 18:08.49 to earn the win, while junior Kael Ragnini was fourth in 18:38.75 and Corbett took 10th place in 20:02.41.
The evening session would again start with a bang for the Brewers, as Randhawa hopped into the water for the 200 backstroke and swam away from the field. The freshman won by over two seconds, just missing a lifetime best with a 2:07.95. Boese was just behind her with a big season-best time of 2:18.58 for seventh place.
In the 100 free, Lautenbacher returned to the pool for VC to take fourth place out of 32 swimmers in the event, posting a season-best 56.02. Kaplan was ninth after swimming a 57.07, while Harrington posted a 58.83 for another top time this campaign.
Later in the 200 breaststroke, Vassar showed its depth once again in the event, putting four swimmers in the top 11 spots. Schultz, swam a 2:28.42 for a season-low time for second-place, while Schrope finished a spot behind her junior teammate after swimming a lifetime best 2:29.24. McDaniels was seventh with a 2:40.73, establishing a new season-best time while nearly breaking her lifetime best as well. Kirsch posted a new season-best with 2:50.57.
In the 200 butterfly, Vassar saw Kennedy-Wood posted a 2:35.75 to add seven more points to the ledger in the final individual event of the day. In the last event, the Brewers would take second-place in the 400 free relay, as Lautenbacher, Schultz, Schrope and Kaplan teamed up to swim a 3:44.70.
The Vassar “B” team of Ragnini, Healey, Harrington and Randhawa was eighth overall and third among “B” teams after posting a 3:52.35. Vassar is now off for the Holidays before returning for its annual training trip down in Florida. VC will be back competitively Saturday, January 13, 2018 in Kresge Pool against Mount Holyoke College and Trinity (CT) for a pair of dual meets.
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