For the thirteenth year in a row, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) Women’s Swimming and Diving team are Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) champions. The February 22 victory topped off a perfect season in conference competition for the Athenas.
Overall, the graduating CMS class of Stags and Athenas, who hold a combined winning streak of 62 dual meets, have never been defeated in SCIAC competition, a feat unprecedented in conference history.
“Several Scripps students played key roles in the team’s victory,” says head coach Charlie Griffiths of last weekend’s performance. “MacKenzie Leake ’15 was a finalist in three events, placing 6th in the 200 IM, 7th in the 400 IM and 9th in the 200 butterfly. Kaela Nurmi ’15 also scored in three events, earning 17th in the 200 IM, 13th in the 400 IM and 9th in the 200 backstroke.”
In the diving competition, Maia Presti ’17 was the individual SCIAC champion for the one-meter event, where she broke the conference and meet record with the impressive score of 525.35. Mary Lynn Clark ’17, who placed eighth in that event and third on the three-meter springboard, was a key scorer. First-year Nia Cooper dove as an exhibition performer; although her score did not count towards the team total, she would have been 11th in the one-meter dive, and Griffiths says he is “excited for her future with CMS.”
“It felt amazing to end the season on such a good note,” says Clark. “The support we all gave each other throughout the long four-day competition kept us all going strong throughout the weekend. I also have to give a shout out to our new dive coach, Fran Jobes, who started with us at the beginning of the season and has been extremely dedicated… Her positive attitude has definitely rubbed off on all of us, and helped us stay undefeated!”
Clark and Presti will both compete in the NCAA Zone II Regionals in San Antonio. Official qualifying times for the Division III National Championships will be announced shortly by the NCAA, as per the CMS website.