Swimming And Diving To Host Wheaton Invitational This Weekend

The Wheaton College men's and women's swimming & diving teams are set to host the Wheaton Invitational on Friday, February 1 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, February 2 at 11 a.m. inside the Balfour Natatorium. The Lyons will welcome Tufts University, Clark University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to the pool this weekend.

WHEATON (M/W): On the men's side, sophomore Ben Oliveri(Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) is coming off of a school record performance in the Lyons last dual meet against Tufts University on January 26 in Medford, Mass. Oliveri recorded 280.65 points in the one-meter dive (six dives) competition, good enough for second overall, to break Charlie Maier's (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) mark of 262.73 points which was also set at Tufts University in Hamilton Pool.

Classmate Nick Fredette (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) picked up a pair of wins in the 200-yard free and the 100-yard breaststroke against Clark University earlier this season when the two teams met on January 11.

For the women, senior Dana Auger (Milford, Mass./Milford) has touched-first for the Lyons several times this year including two first place finishes against WPI and UMass Dartmouth on January 24 in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke. Auger also aided the 200-yard medley relay to a first place finish in that meet. Senior Caroline Isaacs (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) has also captured top honors in multiple events this season for the Lyons. Against Babson on January 18, Isaacs led Wheaton to a 149-92 victory on "Senior Night" in Balfour Natatorium as she touched-first in three individual events.

Isaacs earned first place finishes in the 1,000-yard freestyle (11:08.57), 200-yard individual medley (2:19.22) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:11.55). Isaacs was dominant in the pool winning each event by at least three seconds or more.

MIT (M/W): The Engineers, who have swept the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championships the past two seasons, boast a pair of national rankings coming into this weekend's invitational. The men's squad currently ranks first overall in the latest NCAA.com national rankings while the women's squad is fifth overall.

Freshman Lena Yang (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg) was recently named the NEWMAC Swimmer of the Week as she walked away with two first place finishes and two second place finishes against no.4 ranked Amherst last weekend. Yang swam the anchor leg of the winning 200-yard medley relay that touched with a time of 1:47.89. Yang then went on to win the 100-yard freestyle in 53.71. She came second in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.48 and led off the 400-yard freestyle relay that finished in second place with a 3:34.04.

Classmate Katie Siegal (San Jose, Calif./Harker School) has posted an NCAA A cut qualifying time in the 100-yard butterfly this season with a time of 55.32-seconds at the Winter Invitational on December 1, 2012. Siegel ranks first overall in the NEWMAC in the 100-yard butterfly, sixth overall in the 100-free and seventh overall in the 200-free.

On the men's side, senior Wyatt Ubellacker (Georgetown, Ky./Scott County) holds the fastest time in four separate events among all NEWMAC competitors this season. Ubellacker is ranked first in the 50-free, 100-free, 200-free and 100-fly. Last season, Ubellacker was an All-American in seven events and was named the NEWMAC Swimmer of the Year in 2010.

CLARK (M/W): Freshman David Powers (Woodbridge, Conn./Amity Regional), junior Clive Green (Portmore, Jamaica/Ardenne) and freshman Arjuna Shenoy (San Jose, Calif./Willow Glen) all posted second place finishes in the Cougars 169.50-60.50 loss to Wheaton earlier this season (1/11/13). At the Worcester City Championships on January 19, Green led Clark University to a third place finish overall with a pair of top-5 individual performances. Green was third in both the 50-yard freestyle (22.40-seconds) and the 100-yard butterfly (56.05-seconds).

For the women's team, sophomores Breanna Tucker (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) and Natalie Omary (New York, N.Y./Eleanor Roosevelt)each had outstanding afternoons for Clark University in its loss to Wheaton earlier in the season. Tucker posted the Cougars' lone individual victory, taking first-place honors on the three-meter diving board with a score of 227.70. Tucker also posted a second-place finish on the one-meter apparatus, posting a 173.25. Omary was second in both the 200-yard individual medley (2:24.12) and the 100-yard butterfly (1:04.15). In the 100-yard breaststroke, Omary finished fourth overall in 1:15.61.

TUFTS (M/W): The Jumbos swept its dual meet against Wheaton, at home, last weekend as the women won 169-98 while the men posted a 163-100 victory over the Lyons. Freshmen Tyler Lueck (Weymouth, Mass./BC High), Cam Simko (Summit, N.J./Summit), and Michael Winget (Shelburne, Va./Champlain Valley Union) were all first to the wall in two events for Tufts. Junior diver Johann Schmidt (Nanuet, N.Y./Clarkstown South) also had the top scores in both events. Winget currently holds the third fastest time in the 100-yard backstroke in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Last season, the men's squad finished third overall in the NESCAC championships with 1,030 points behind conference champion Williams (2,011) and Amherst (1,959).

On the women's side, senior Christine Garvey (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy), junior Jenny Hu (Oakland, Calif./The College Preparatory School), first-year Maddie Golison (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson), junior Samantha Sliwinski (Weymouth, Mass./Fontbonne Academy), and junior diver Sami Bloom (Wilton, Conn.Wilton) all had the best times or scores in two events each for Tufts in its win over Wheaton. Last year, the Jumbos finished third overall in the NESCAC championships. Tufts has finished in third placed overall at the conference championships for two-straight seasons.

Wheaton will take a week off from competition after hosting the Wheaton Invitational to prepare for the NEWMAC championships on Friday, February 15 through Sunday, February 17. MIT will host the NEWMAC championships in Cambridge, Mass. at the Barrie Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center.