Friday Preliminaries | Friday Final Results
 

Women Day 1	Women Day 2	Women Day 3
Men Day 1	Men Day 2	Men Day 3

MADISON, N.J.—The Gryphons broke two school records while Sarah Lawrence College women's swimming is in second place at the conclusion of day one of the 2014 Ranger Invitational, hosted by Drew University, Dec. 5-7, at F.M. Kirby Pool.

With 57 team points, Sarah Lawrence trails only the host Rangers (64). Division II Queens College (49) is in third place, followed by Cedar Crest College (25), Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham (24), College of Saint Elizabeth (22), and The College of New Rochelle (10).

The Gryphons posted team-record-breaking performances in both of the day's relay events. In the 200 yard freestyle relay, sophomore Jacqueline Quirk (Millburn, N.J./Millburn), rookie Hannah Lawson (Portland, Ore./Pacific Crest Community School), and sophomores Colette Harley (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) and Gabby Risica (Narragansett, R.I./Narragansett) put together a swim of 1:47.88. The third-place time was fast enough to give the foursome control of their third SLC relay record.

The 500 freestyle saw Harley return to the water for a tense back-and-forth race. The lead was exchanged at least four times as Harley stayed within 0.4 second of the leader throughout the event. In the end, Harley was out-touched by 0.16 second with a swim of 5:45.12. The swim was her best of the season and 0.10 second off her own SLC record.

Senior Alexis Bates (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) also qualified for the 500 free final and improved upon her preliminary time by 11 seconds to swim a season-best of 6:01.12.

Lawson made her season debut in the 200 individual medley, qualifying for the final and earning fourth place with a swim of 2:27.55. Teammates Sam Amberchan (Alameda, Calif./Menlo-Atherton) and Elizabeth Kroll (Sacramento, Calif./The Met Sacramento) also swam season-best times to qualify for the final and place seventh (2:38.65) and eighth (2:43.74), respectively.

In the 50 free, Quirk (27.35) swam a season-best time to beat out classmate Risica (27.51) as the pair placed fifth and sixth in the final.

The final event saw the Gryphons triumph in the 400 medley relay. Risica, Lawson, Harley and Quirk captured first place in 4:24.89, winning by more than three seconds and setting a new Ranger Invitational record in the process. The same quartet had broken the SLC record on Nov. 15, and improved their collective time by 3.60 seconds on Friday.

Six other Gryphons posted season best swims during Friday's preliminaries. Sarah Schnapp (Taiwan/Tzu Chi) swam a personal best in the 50 free and was one place away from qualifying for the 200 IM final. Sonia Abraham (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte) swam a season best in the 500 freestyle, while Sky Mihaylo (Albany, Ore./West Albany) made her season debut in the event.

Lydia Mullan (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) swam a personal best in the 200 individual medley, beating her previous best by five seconds. Rachel Barkowitz (Dedham, Mass./Dedham) entered her first 50 free of the season, while Zoe Berg (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) swam a career best in the event.

Action at the Ranger Invitational continues on Saturday with preliminaries starting at 9 a.m. and finals at 4 p.m.