Athenas Grab Second at SCIAC Championships

COMMERCE, Calif. – The Athenas wrapped up the SCIAC Championships on Saturday night, finishing in second-place with 1,015 points. During the four-day Championship, the Athenas earned five First Team and a total of 18 All-SCIAC honors. Freshman Mia Syme (CMC) led the Athenas on the week with a pair of individual First Team accolades in the 500 Free and the 1650 Free. Her time of 4:57.37 in the 500 Free set a new SCIAC record in the event and was the first ever sub-five minute time in CMS history.

In addition to their 18 All-SCIAC honors, the Athenas earned 12 NCAA 'B' cuts in 10 different events.

As mentioned, the Athenas finished the Championships in second place, behind the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. The Athenas' Sixth Street rivals, earned 1,166 points across the 20 women's events to win the title by just over 150 points. It was a two-team race, as the Athenas finished over 500 points ahead of third-place Chapman (504 points).

Day Four Update (Saturday, Feb. 24) - Athenas finish Second with 1,015 points
Mia Syme (CMC) and Claire Bacon-Brenes (SC) each earned victories on the final day of competition. Syme started the day off by setting a new SCIAC meet record in the 1650 Free. Three days after breaking the SCIAC record in the 500 Free, Syme broke the meet record with a time of 17:04.54 in the 1650 for her second First Team All-SCIAC honor of the meet. Not only is that time an NCAA 'B' cut, but it also is lower than the 2017 qualifying mark and slots her second on the all-time list for the event in CMS history.

Later in the evening, Bacon-Brenes turned in a first place finish in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:21.02 in the finals. Her prelim time of 2:20.37 was actually faster and is an NCAA 'B' cut time. The First Team All-SCIAC honor in the event is her second All-Conference honor of the meet after she took third in the 100 Breast the other night.

In addition to Syme's first-place finish in the 1650 Free, Elizabeth Carrade (CMC) finished in second behind her teammate with a time of 17:19.45 to earn Second Team honors. With her All-SCIAC finish, Carrade also turns in an NCAA 'B' cut time.

In the 100 Free, there was a three-way tie for third with CMS teammates Natalia Orbach-Mandel (HMC) and Riley Hoffman (CMC) touching at the same time as Cal Lutheran's Mardell Ramirez at 52.00. The crowded podium awarded five swimmers All-SCIAC in the event.

Maia Presti (SC) added a second 2018 All-SCIAC accolade to her resume with a third-place finish in the Three Meter Diving competition. The senior scored 423.05 to earn a Third Team All-SCIAC honor after winning the one-meter competition earlier in the week.

The relay team of Riley Hoffman (CMC), Janet Tran (CMC), Emma Stacy (SC), Natalia Orbach-Mandel (HMC) wrapped up the SCIAC Championships for the Athenas with a second-place finish in the 400 Free Relay. Their time of 3:28.70 was just a half second off of first place and earned CMS another 'B' cut.

Day Three Update (Friday, Feb. 23) - Athenas in Second with 673 points

The Athenas picked up five more All-SCIAC honors and earned a trio of NCAA 'B' cuts on the third day of the SCIAC Championships at Brenda Villa Aquatic Center in Commerce, Calif. Bryn Edwards (CMC) and Claire Bacon-Brenes (SC) finishing second and third in the 100 Breast to highlight the day for the Athenas. Their times of 1:04.53 and 1:04.63, respectively, earned them both NCAA 'B' cuts in addition to the All-SCIAC accolades. Jocelyn Crawford (CMC) also earned a 'B' cut with her showing in the 100 Back. She finished third in the event with a time of 56.30, placing her under the NCAA qualifying time from 2017.

The 400 Medley Relay team of Ivy Chen (HMC), Bryn Edwards (CMC), Allie Umemoto (SC), and Natalia Orbach-Mandel (HMC) earned Second Team All-SCIAC with a time of 3:53.15

After three days of the SCIAC Championships, the Athenas sit in second place with 673 points, trailing only Pomona-Pitzer's 764 points.

Ivy Chen (HMC) took third-place in the 400 IM to earn All-SCIAC honors in a time of 4:34.91. Her time was fast enough to place her in ninth-place on the Athenas' top-10 list for the event. The Athenas had three swimmers finish in a row in the 200 Free from fifth to seventh. Emma Stacy (1:53.82), Natalia Orbach-Mandel (1:53.89), and Riley Hoffman (1:53.98) all finished within two tenths of a second of each other. All three of their times are top-10 marks in program history in the event. Stacy sits in seventh, Orbach-Mandel in eighth, and Hoffman in ninth after their swims this evening.

The SCIAC Championships wrap up on Saturday. Prelims start at 9:00 a.m. with the finals of the 1650 Free, 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Back, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, and 400 Free Relay beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Day Two Update (Thursday, Feb. 22) - Athenas in First with 390 points

Maia Syme (CMC) broke the SCIAC record in the 500 Free by more than two and a half seconds with a time of 4:57.37 to win the event. She had to out touch Cal Lutheran's Mardell Ramirez, who finished the race less than two tenths of a second behind her (and well under the previous SCIAC record time) at 4:57.52. Syme trailed for the vast majority of the race and was half a second off the pace with just 50 meters remaining. She turned on the jets in the final lap and recorded a 28.88-second final lap to claim the race, an NCAA 'B' cut, a CMS record, and a SCIAC record by .15 of a second.

Syme's record breaking performance led the Athenas' effort of Day Two of the SCIAC Championships. At the mid-point of the meet, CMS sits on top of the leaderboard with 390 points. Pomona-Pitzer is right on the Athenas' heels with 377 points. After the Sixth Street rivals, there is a steep drop-off before Chapman checks in with 222 points in third place.

Maia Presti (SC) impressed in the one meter diving competition on Thursday. The senior turned in the third-highest score in the country this season with a 505.85 to win the one-meter diving competition by by over 30 points over Kellyn Toole of Chapman (474.55).

In addition to the pair of victories from Presti and Syme, the Athenas took home two second-place finishes as well. Jocelyn Crawford (CMC) was involved in both Second Team performances. First she claimed second in the 50 Free with a time of 23.55, just .21 seconds shy of her own school record. The time gave her an NCAA 'B' cut and was under the time needed to qualify in 2017 for the National Championships.

Later, Crawford teamed up with Natalia Orbach-Mandel (HMC), Laura Dickinson (CMC), and Riley Hoffman (CMC) to finish second in the 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:34.53. Their time gave the Athenas their third NCAA 'B' cut of the day and was the second fastest time in the event in CMS women's swimming history. Like Crawford's time in the 50 Free, the 200 Free Relay time was under the 2017 qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships.

Day Three begins on Friday morning with Prelims in the morning before the Finals Competition begins at 5:00 p.m. On the docket for tomorrow evening is the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, and 400 Medley Relay.

Day One Update (Wednesday, Feb. 21) - Athenas tied for First with 118 points
The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's swimming and diving team began the 2018 SCIAC Championships on Wednesday. After a pair of relays, the Athenas are tied for first-place with Pomona-Pitzer with 118 points. The Athenas ended Day One with a record breaking performance in the 800 Free Relay (7:36.40).

The Athenas time of 7:36.40 in the relay broke the program record and set a new mark for times at the SCIAC Championship Meet. The team of Janet Tran (CMC), Mia Syme (CMC), Riley Hoffman (CMC), and Elizabeth Carrade (CMC) turned in the time with Hoffman leading the charge with a 1:51.56 split in her 200 yard leg. When Hoffman got in the pool the Athenas held nearly a three second lead. When she handed off to Carrade the Athenas were up by more than seven seconds on second-place Pomona-Pitzer. Their time earned the Athenas an NCAA 'B' Cut as the ninth fastest time in Division III this season.

The Athenas also earned an NCAA 'B' cut in the 200 Medley Relay when they finished second with a time of 1:44.84. The team of Jocelyn Crawford (CMC), Claire Bacon-Brenes (SC), Janet Tran (CMC), and Natalia Orbach-Mandel (HMC) finished less than three second behind the relay team from Pomona-Pitzer (1:42.33).

Follow below to see All-SCIAC Honors, CMS Records broken, and NCAA Cuts earned.

   First Place earns First Team All-SCIAC, Second Place earns Second Team All-SCIAC, and Third Place earns Third Team All-SCIAC