COLCHESTER, Vt. - Ten different members of the Saint Michael's College women's swimming & diving team played a hand in at least one win on Tuesday, helping the Purple Knights down Norwich University, 149-52, in the Ross Sports Center. Saint Michael's, which won its 27th consecutive meeting with the 0-4 Cadets, improves to 3-0 for the third straight season. The Purple and Gold men fell to 1-2 after dropping a 175-121 decision against 3-1 Norwich.
Junior Olivia Hamilton (Bourne, Mass./Bishop Stang) and first-years Catherine Morse (Hope, R.I./Saint Mary Academy-Bay View) and Lauren Wheaton (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) all picked up the first victories of their careers, with Hamilton capturing the 100-yard butterfly, Morse taking the 100-yard freestyle, and Wheaton winning the 100-yard breaststroke in addition to completing a leg for the top 200-yard medley relay. Wheaton was joined in that foursome by senior Grace Kahn (Fairhope, Ala./Bayside Academy), sophomore Luci Franklin (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Lowell Whiteman School) and first-year Katrina Wiesner (Bow, N.H./Bow).
Kahn was also triumphant in the 100-yard individual medley, and Wiesner garnered a second victory in the 200 free relay, joining senior Julie Mullowney (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) and juniors Kim Brady (Morris Township, N.J./Academy of Saint Elizabeth) and Steph Nadow (Charlton, Mass./Saint Peter-Marian). Nadow also won the 50-yard backstroke and 50 fly, Brady captured the 50 breast, and Mullowney touched the wall first in the 50 free.
First-year Lindsay McNall (Colchester, Vt./Colchester) joined Nadow in winning three events, besting the 100 back, 200 free and 500 free fields. During the 100 back, she clocked in at 1:00.29, just 0.20 seconds short of Nadow's nine-month-old program standard.
Sophomore Joe Thomas (Norwood, Mass./Boston College HS) won three events for the Saint Michael's men, taking the 100 and 200 free races while anchoring the victorious 200 medley relay, which clocking in at 1:47.58 to win by 0.67 seconds. During the 200 medley relay, junior Matt Pearson (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) and first-years Seth Boudreau (Saint Albans, Vt./BFA-Saint Albans) and Cam Thirkell (Tyngsboro, Mass./Tyngsboro) also swam legs.
Thirkell picked up a second win in the 100 fly, while junior Nathan Paluso (Windham, Maine/Windham) captured both the 100 breast and 1,000 free races. During the 100 breast, Paluso notched a 1:08.38 performance, edging out Pearson by just 0.03 seconds. Boudreau posted a team-best two second-place finishes, in the 50 and 100 back races.
The Purple Knights head to the State University of New York at Potsdam for the Friday-Saturday North Country Invitational. Friday's action begins at 4 p.m.
