Lyons remain in fourth at NEWMACs as trio of school records fall

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - The Wheaton College women's swimming & diving team remained in fourth place following the second day of the three-day New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship, as the Lyons posted 261.5 points in the 10-school field while breaking a trio of school records on Saturday at Mount Holyoke College.

Wheaton leads fifth-place Wellesley College by 27.5 points and is in striking distance of third-place United States Coast Guard Academy's 309 points.  The Lyons are in search of reaching a program-best third place for the fourth consecutive year.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) holds a 37-point edge over 10-time defending champion Springfield College.

Senior Nicole Zais (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) recorded Wheaton's highest finish of the night with her runner-up mark during the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:06.82, which was good for her second all-conference citation of the weekend and 12th of her career.  During that race, she shattered her 50-yard breast mark with a time of 30.46.

Zais also joined seniors Sara Hollar (La Crescenta, Calif./Flintridge Prep) and Stephany Perkins (Monmouth, Maine/Monmouth Academy) and sophomore Elle Van Cott (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) in the 200-yard medley relay.  The quartet placed third in 1:49.18.  During the race, Van Cott set a school record in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 28.04.  She also placed fifth during the 100-yard back in 1:00.87.

Sophomore Caroline Isaacs (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop) bested her own program standard in the 400-yard individual medley.  Beating her previous mark during the trials with a time of 4:46.73, Isaacs finished fifth in the finals in 4:43.31, which was nearly four seconds faster than her 2010 school record.

In the 800-yard relay, the final event of the night, Isaacs, Van Cott, senior Alisha Wilson (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) and sophomore Julia Kusiak Carey (Shawmut, Maine/Lawrence) combined to take sixth.

Sunday's final day of action begins with the trials at 11:00 a.m. and finals at 6:30 p.m.