CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Nov. 21, 2009) – The Rutgers swimming and diving team competed at day two of the Harvard Invitational, Saturday. The headline of the day came from senior captains Catherine Whetstone (Haven Beach, N.J.) and Erin Saunders (Holmes, Pa.), who both earned first-place finishes on the day.
Whetstone ranked first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.49. Sophomore Brianne Lindblad (Kent, Wash.) took fourth in the race, touching the wall in 57.77. Senior Tracy Dimond (Allentown, Pa.) also scored in the race, finishing seventh with a time of 59.04.
Saunders took first in the 3 meter dive, racking up 585.65 points in the win.
In the 400 IM, Jacquie Ward (Berlin, N.J.) took silver with a time of 4:25.75. Rookie Taylor Zafir (Wheaton, Ill.) ranked fifth in the race (4:34.62).
Shayna Longacre (Barto, Pa.) swam 1:06.16 in the 100 breast for a second-place finish. The senior captain was followed by freshman Jessica Simunek (Cherry Hill, N.J.), who ranked sixth overall. Brittney Kuras (Canandaigua, N.Y.) and Ward ranked seventh (1:06.59) and eighth (1:07.96), respectively.
On Friday, the Scarlet Knights started off the day with the 200 free relay. The squad - consisting of Kuras, Longacre, Lindblad and Melanie Gaffey (Bohemia, N.Y.) - took second with a time of 1:34.00.
Kuras also finished second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:04.32, with Longacre just behind grabbing third (2:06.40).
In the 50 free, Lindblad captured points for the Scarlet Knights, finishing eighth with a time of 24.62. Longacre earned ninth with a time of 24.33, totaling nine points for RU.
Rutgers ranked second in the 400 medley relay. Whetstone, Longacre, Jackie Klein (Campbell Hall, N.Y.), and Kuras touched the wall in 3:50.54 for the silver.
The Scarlet Knights continue action Sunday in Cambridge.
