SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The No. 9 Swarthmore College women's swimming team began its quest for its fourth-straight conference title with a gold medal sweep on the opening night of the Centennial Championships. The Garnet currently sit in first place with 116 points, while Gettysburg trails with 96 points. 

Swarthmore earned gold medals in both of tonight's relay events, while also claiming first overall in the consolation finals. The 800 freestyle relay of Quinn Weygandt, Ava Craig, Elle Anthony and Lauren Rohde headlined the evening with a record-shattering swim to close out the night. The freestyle quartet overtook the program, pool, championship and conference records, while finishing eight seconds under the NCAA B cut. 

The Garnet also grabbed gold in the 200 medley relay. The team of Erin Szuromi, Sophie Rotival, Genine Collins and Anthony kicked off the championships with a top finish. Anthony was a member of both first-place relays as she increased her career medal count to 14 at the Centennial Championships.  


HOW IT HAPPENED
- The 200 medley relay of Szuromi, Rotival, Collins and Anthony claimed gold to open a successful first session. The Garnet touched the wall at 1:43.27 to finish under the NCAA B cut, but narrowly missed a conference and program record. Last year's championship team of Kaja Arusha, Rotival, Ashley Wong and Collins maintained their conference and program record of 1:42.71. This year's effort ranked second all-time in program history. 

- Swarthmore just missed an NCAA B cut in the 200 medley relay consolation final. The team of Maya Ambardekar, Cara Dominici, Norah Rutkowski and Ainsley-Jane Tambling touched first with a time of 1:44.77. The swim ranked eighth all-time in program history and was the third fastest time out of both heats. 

- The 800 freestyle relay of Weygandt, Craig, Anthony and Rohde stole the show with a remarkable, gold-medal performance. The quartet finished with a time of 7:30.19 to set a new program, pool, championship and conference record. The team also finished eight seconds under the NCAA B cut and four seconds faster than their nearest challenger. The time currently ranks 11th in the nation. 

- Dominici, Kate Hallmark, Mackenzie Tucker and Georgi Mathews were victorious in the 800 freestyle consolation final. The team finished with a time of 7:38.95 to post the third fastest mark out of both heats. They finished a few tenths of a second short of the NCAA B cut. 

UP NEXT
The Garnet return to the pool tomorrow at 10:00 am for the morning session of the Centennial Conference Championships. The team looks to grow its lead in the night session at 6:00 pm.