BROCKTON, Mass. (January 25, 2025) – Stonehill College collected seven event wins in securing a 136-126 Senior Day victory over Merrimack College in the first of a home-and-home dual meet weekend series with the Warriors at Massasoit Community College today.

Before the meet, Stonehill took a moment to honor its six seniors competing in their final home dual meet of the season. Postgrad Katie Keating, seniors Jami Hepburn, Sharlotte Lundell and Julie Mastroianni, along with junior Azia Koser have all been leaders for the program in its transition to the NCAA Division I level over the last three years.
 

Seniors and families before today's senior day meet

      

Sophomore Grace Idowu and junior Taylor Belanger combined for five of Stonehill's seven event wins on the afternoon with a pair of individual wins apiece while teaming up for a victory in the 200-yard medley relay to start the afternoon. Belanger swam the breaststroke leg and Idowu the butterfly leg for the medley relay that took first place in the first event of the meet in 1:51.64. Freshman Maddie Gomez swam the lead backstroke leg in 29.56 seconds before Belanger swam the breaststroke leg in 29.88 seconds and Idowu completed the butterfly leg in 27.33 seconds with junior Kristy Barry swimming the freestyle anchor leg in 24.87.

 

Idowu was part of three event wins and a second place relay this afternoon (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

Idowu added a sweep of the two sprint freestyle events to the relay win. She took first in the 50-yard freestyle in 25.85 seconds and then added a first-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle in 56.56 seconds.

Belanger swept the two breaststroke events for Stonehill, starting with a sweep of the top two spots in the 50-yard event with Hepburn. Belanger took first in 30.97 seconds, while Hepburn clocked in at 32.41 for second, and freshman Lilith Peterson finished fourth in 32.95.

Belanger followed that win up with a first-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:08.76. Peterson finished third in 1:10.89, while Hepburn took fourth in 1:14.49.
     
Sophomore Isabella Rodriguez set a school record in the 1000-yard freestyle finishing first in 11:11.29. She edged the previous school mark of 11:11.60 by Koser, who finished second today in a season-best 11:28.07, at the 2023 Northeast Conference Championships. Rodriguez added a second-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle in a season-best 5:32.03, while Koser rounded out the top three in a season-best 5:35.62.

Freshman Elizabeth Weston led a sweep of the top three spots in the 50-yard backstroke with a first-place finish in 29.45 seconds. Freshman Sorina Cheng was just 0.04 behind in second place with her time of 29.49, while classmate Maddie Gomez took third in 29.52 as the three Skyhawks were separated by a mere 0.07-seconds.

Weston followed that up with a third-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:03.74, a half-second behind Cheng in second with her time of 1:03.21. Gomez added a fourth-place finish at 1:04.18.

 

Rodriguez set a new school record in the 1000 freestyle and also placed second in the 500 today (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

Stonehill capped the afternoon with a second-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:52.57. Idowu swam the lead leg in 56.96, followed by freshman Chihiro Bringman with a 57.21-second split for the second leg, while Weston swam the third leg in 59.67 and Barry brought home the anchor leg in 58.73.
 
More Results

Up Next
Stonehill and Merrimack will be back in the pool for a dual meet tomorrow afternoon at the Pan Athletic Center at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, at 2:30 p.m. The Skyhawks are gearing up for the 2025 Northeast Conference Championships at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, February 19-22.
 
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