ITHACA, N.Y. – Four the fourth season in a row, the Ithaca College women's swimming and diving program showcased its speed, depth, diving talents and the IC relays shined across the four-day Liberty League Championships as the conclusion of the event, the Bombers were crowed champions. Ithaca College racked up 1,619 points as they held off Vassar (1,277) and RPI (1,369) and impressively enough the Bombers swept the major awards with
Sonia Mlakar being named Swimmer of the Meet after winning several events and
Karalyn Pawcio earned Diver of the Meet after winning the 3-meter and her equally impressive performance in the third-place finish on the 1-meter.
Saturday's action got underway as student-athletes showcased their endurance in the 1,650-yard freestyle as
Erin Kiley finished in second place for Ithaca with a recorded time of 17:47.29, which was two seconds off the pace of Addie Wiener from Vassar College.
The top three finishers of the 100-yard freestyle surpassed the previous Liberty League Championship record as leading the pack was senior
Jane Pfeufer who was crowned champion with her time of 51.65. Also finishing within the top-5 was
Emily VanderSleen who finished fourth with a recorded time of 52.93.
First year
Sonia Mlakar who won the 100-yard backstroke earlier in the week was the favorite going into the evening finals and she didn't disappoint in the 200 backstroke as she broke two minutes with her NCAA-B cut time of 1:59.80, which also broke the championship record.
Ithaca's top finisher in the 200-yard breaststroke was senior
Jenna Molnar who scored a seventh-place finish with a time of 2:28.40.
Abigail Ignagni won the B-Final after shaving off nearly four seconds from her preliminary time as she touched the final wall at 2:25.93.
In the final event of the meet, the 400-yard freestyle relay the Bombers the 400-yard freestyle team of
Katie Champagne, Mlakar, Pfeufer and VanderSleen took first place in an NCAA B-cut time of 3:28.64. This time also surpassed the program record, which was set during the 2016-17 season.
Next up, the divers will compete in the NCAA Diving Regionals beginning Friday, Feb. 24-25.
