Augusta Lewis Earns SCIAC Women's Swimmer, Newcomer of the Year Awards

CLAREMONT, Calif. - First-year swimmer Augusta Lewis earned both the SCIAC Swimmer of the Year and the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year Awards for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's swimming and diving team, it was announced at the conclusion of the SCIAC Championships this weekend.

Lewis received the honors after a spectacular rookie campaign for the Athenas, which concluded with her sweeping the 200 IM and 400 IM at the SCIAC Championships with new league records in both events.

She announced her arrival on the SCIAC scene on December 1 in a dual meet with Pomona-Pitzer, when she finished in first place in three events, all in Axelrood Pool record times to lead CMS to the win.  She had pool records in the 400-yard IM (4:31.17), the 200-yard breaststroke (2:20.80), and the 200-yard IM (2:06.29) against the Sagehens, earning her the first of her two SCIAC Swimmer of the Week honors. 

The second time she earned the honor was after a road win at Redlands, when she set another pool record in the 400 IM, giving her the top time at two of the SCIAC facilities, while adding a win in the 200-yard breaststroke.

At the SCIAC Championships, Lewis continued her dominance in the individual medley by winning both races by huge margins of victory, earning her top 10 times in Division III in both events. On Friday, Lewis picked up a dominant win in the 200 IM, finishing in 2:02.84 to set a new league and meet record, almost five seconds ahead of second-place Sarah Jin of Pomona-Pitzer.

The old SCIAC (and CMS) record of 2:03.79 had held since 2012 when Michele Kee set it at the NCAA Division III Championships. It was also the eighth-best time in Division III this season.

On Saturday, Lewis set a SCIAC record in the IM for the second straight day, winning with a time of 4:23.43 in the 400, over eight and a half seconds faster than her closest competition, classmate Natalie Larsen. 

Lewis also passed a school record which had held since 2004, when Lisal Smith finished in 4:27.18 to win the national title. The time was well under under the NCAA "B" cut line of 4:30.76, and ranked sixth nationally in Division III at the end of the SCIAC Championships. 

On Sunday, Lewis finished a close second in the 200 breast in her bid to win three SCIAC titles in three days. Lewis swam an NCAA "B" cut time of 2:19.57, which ranks No. 13 nationally, giving her three times in the top 15 in the country, but came in second to Alexandra Werner of Pomona-Pitzer (2:18.62).

Lewis will likely continue her impressive freshman campaign at the NCAA Division III Championships from March 20-23 when the invitations are officially announced.