EWING, N.J. (December 3, 2023) – Three members of the Stevens Institute of Technology women's swimming team won individual races to guide the Ducks to second place Sunday at The College of New Jersey Invitational, hosted by the Lions at the TCNJ Aquatic Center.
Junior
Sophie Patz finished first in the 200-yard backstroke, classmate
Kai Wong won the 100-yard freestyle and sophomore
Natalia Brunetti won the 200-yard butterfly for the Ducks, who amassed 997 points across the three-day event. The College of New Jersey rallied on the final day of competition to win the meet with 1,005 points. Merchant Marine finished third with 581 points, with New Paltz (523) and West Chester (87) rounding out the standings.
In addition to the three race victories Sunday, the Ducks also posted three second-place finishes and a pair of third-place finishes. Additionally, senior
Olivia Shusta won the 'B' final in the 200 Back, while junior
Emily Lynch placed third in the 'B' final of the 100 Free.
All totaled, Stevens won nine of the 20 races across the weekend, one behind the hosting Lions. The Ducks also collected eight second-place finishes and 11 third-place finishes.
The Rundown
- The meet began with the 1650. First-year Abigail Rosingana was the Ducks' lone entrant in the race, and the rookie swimmer placed second with a time of 18:35.21.
- Patz put together a pair of strong swims in the 200-yard backstroke. First, the Severna Park, Maryland native set a new season best in the preliminary race with a time of 2:09.28. Then Patz topped that number with a new PR in the final, touching the wall in 2:08.94 to win the race by nearly three seconds. The Ducks had five of the eight entrants in the event. Sophomore Rachel Merrifield was third with a time of 2:12.41 (she set a new season best in the prelims). Senior Claire Hannan was fourth with a season-best time of 2:12.66, while sophomore Melissa Misurelli (2:13.51) and first-year Kylie Martinez (2:15.17) were fifth and sixth, respectively. In the 'B' final, Shusta won the race in a season-best 2:19.57, finishing a little more than a second ahead of sophomore Sydney Lanager (2:20.82).
- Wong won the 100 Free with a personal-best time of 54.46 seconds. The race victory capped a strong meet for the Irvine, California native, who totaled four first-place finishes, three second, and one third, across the weekend. She set multiple season-best times and had two new personal bests. Senior Keenan Yates took seventh with a season-best time of 56.57 seconds. Lynch, meanwhile, took third in the 'B' final with a time of 58.18 seconds.
- The Ducks had a strong showing in the 200-yard breaststroke, with three swimmers reaching the championship race. Sophomore Gabby Sokolik was the highest finisher, placing third with a time of 2:30.25, while first-year Ashley Settle (2:33.12) and sophomore Adriana Bertolotti (2:33.14) coming in fourth and fifth, respectively.
- In the final individual race of the meet, Brunetti picked up the Ducks' final victory of the day, winning the race in 2:16.76. The second-year swimmer set a new season best in the prelims, finishing in 2:15.07. Classmate Gabby Tyer was right behind Brunetti, finishing second with a time of 2:17.29, trimming nearly three seconds off her prelim time.
- In the final event of the weekend, the Ducks took second place in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of Sokolik, Misurelli, Yates and Wong completed the race in 3:42.82. The Ducks' 'B' relay of Martinez, Bertolotti, Brunetti and Hannan took fourth with a time of 3:44.10. The Ducks' final two relay teams (Merrifield/Tyer/Rosingana/Settle and Patz/Lynch/Shusta/Lanager) actually sixth and seventh ahead of one 'A' and two 'B' relay squads from other schools, but couldn't add to the Ducks' team total because only the top two relays were scored.
For the Opponents
- TCNJ won the remaining three events not won by Stevens on Sunday.
- Sarah Bruton finished first in the 1650, touching the wall in 18:24.52.
- Lilliana Kuball touched the wall first in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:27.12).
- The Lions won the final event of the meet, the 400-yard freestyle relay, with the team of Bridget Cleveland, Mackenzie Wall, Katie Mazzacco and Kuball finishing the race in 3:37.40.
Around the Middle Atlantic Conference
- FDU-Florham finished up competition at the Drew University Ranger Invitational in Madison, New Jersey. The Devils placed fourth out of four teams at the three-day meet.
- Stevenson finished fourth out of seven teams at Randolph-Macon's Yellow Jacket Invitational.
- Albright, Arcadia, Hood, King's, Lebanon Valley, Messiah, Misericordia, Widener and York were off and have wrapped up the first half of their respective seasons.
Coach's Comments
- "Great night of racing again."
- "For the women, Abby Rosingana started things with a lifetime best in her Mile. Then, in the 200 Backstroke, Sophie Patz, Rachel Merrifield, Claire Hannan, Melissa Misurelli and Kylie Martinez finished 1-3-4-5-6."
- "Kai Wong had a great swim in the 100 Freestyle, winning the event then Gabs Sokolik, Adriana Bertolotti and Ashley Settle finished 3-4-5 in the 200 Breast. Also, Natalia Brunetti and Gabby Tyer finished first and second in the 200 Fly."
- "To end the meet, we had four tremendous 400 Free Relays."
- "All in all, this a great weekend for the women with lots of best time and high energy. This was a great conclusion to our fall meet schedule and we look forward to swimming even faster come conferences in February."
Up Next
- After the winter break, Stevens returns to the pool for a two-day split meet with No. 5 New York University. The first half of the meet takes place at the DeBaun Aquatic Center on Jan. 12, with the second half taking place at the Palladium Athletic Facility in Manhattan one day later. Links for live video for both halves of the meet are posted to StevensDucks.com.
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