THE BASICS:
-Location: Worcester, Mass. (WPI)
-The Lead: The Assumption College swimming team competed in the 2015 New England Invitational on Saturday in an unscored meet full of tough competition. Freshman Shannon Quirk (Wakefield, Mass. / Wakefield Memorial) broke the first Assumption record of the season while sophomores Niamh Morgan (Bettystown, Ireland / Sacred Heart School) and Carylyn Waite (Tampa, Fla. / Tampa Prep) earned multiple victories on the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
-Quirk earned the first victory of the day for the Hounds and broke the Assumption record in the 1,000 freestyle with her time of 10:36.14. The freshman shattered the previous program record of 10:37.07, set by Kerry Silva in February of 2012.
-Freshman Shannon Fitzsimmons (Andover, Mass. / Andover) followed Quirk in second place with her time of 11:13.84.
-Morgan racked up three gold-medal victories on the day including the 400 IM, the 100 backstroke and the 200 IM. Morgan won the 400 IM by a comfortable, five-second margin, clocking a time of 4:38.06. In the 100 backstroke, she finished with a time of 1:01.46, over a full second before the second-place finisher from Tufts. In the 200 IM, Morgan touched the wall in 2:14.70 for the win.
-Waite collected two wins in the competition, the first of which came in the 200 freestyle with her time of 1:56.01, followed by her win in the 100 free (54.67).
-Several other Hounds performed well individually including senior Victoria Weber (Augusta, Maine / Cony), who finished second in the 100 butterfly with her time of 1:00.40 as well as sophomore Courtney Barr (Waltham, Mass. / Matignon), who placed third in the 50 butterfly in 27.23.
-Barr and Weber also teamed up in the 200 medley relay, along with Waite and junior Rachel Gagnon (Tolland, Conn. / Tolland). The squad finished fourth with its time of 1:54.94.
-Weber and Waite also teamed up with freshmen Morgan Nicholls (East London, South Africa / Clarendon) and Caroline Cole (Highland Mills, N.Y. / Monroe Woodbury) in the 400 freestyle relay. Their team finished second with its time of 3:43.28.
UP NEXT:
-The Greyhounds return to action on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Plourde Pool when they host Division I Sacred Heart at 4 p.m. Assumption topped the Pioneers last season by a score of 164-89.
STAY CONNECTED:
-For the latest on Assumption College Athletics, follow the Hounds via social media on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. For more information, contact the Office of Athletic Communications at 508-767-7240.
-Fans can also sign up for email updates and text message alerts for the women's swimming and diving team and all of the other 23 Assumption varsity sports by clicking here.