ITHACA, N.Y.—The William Smith College swimming & diving team opened its season this afternoon against Ithaca College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute at the Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium in Ithaca, New York.
 
The Herons finished the day with 365.8 points while the Engineers recorded 445.4 and the host Bombers finished on top with 479.8 points.
 
Sophomore Hali Seidberg led William Smith with a fourth-place finish in the 50-yard fly event, clocking in at 28.96. Seidberg also showed well in the 100-yard fly, finishing sixth after stopping the clock at 1:05.49.
 
Sophomore Lea Emanuel posted her best finish of the day in the 100-yard backstroke event, finishing fifth after clocking in at 1:08.76. She also had a strong showing in the 50-yard backstroke event, stopping the clock at 31.94 and finishing in sixth.
 
In the 200-yard freestyle event, junior Tessa Yohan led the Herons with a sixth-place finish. Yohan clocked in at 2:09.03 in the event. She matched that with a sixth-place performance in the 200-yard IM event, stopping the clock at 2:25.02.
 
First-year Mackenzie Morus had a strong collegiate debut for William Smith, finishing sixth in the 1000-yard freestyle event after stopping the clock at 11:56.23. Morus joined Seidberg, Emanuel and first-year Jayne Pearson in the 400-yard freestyle relay team that finished fifth with a time of 4:04.96.
 
On the diving board, sophomore Ella Raiti led the Herons with a fifth-place finish from the 3-meter board (175.50) and a seventh-place finish from the 1-meter board (159.70).
 
COACHES CORNER:
 
"The Herons had the challenge of facing off against one of the best in the Liberty League conference in Ithaca, but this year the energy was different," said Head Coach R.C. Weston. "You can tell how much we have grown simply by how many birds entered the water today and how many flocked at the end of the lanes as they cheered on their teammates. There was never a moment in that meet that the energy was low, even when raced didn't go our way. It's incredible to see the transformation we have had in such a few short weeks, and this was truly a day to remember. Tessa, Hali, and Lea swam wonderfully, and our distance duo of Mackenzie and Jayne stepped up and set a solid foundation to continue building from. In fact, many of our first years impressed me with their growth with just a couple weeks of training, including Zoe Neiderbach who went a lifetime best time in her 100- and 200-yard freestyles. My hats off to coach Elaina and our divers for a fantastic showing as well, and I'm looking forward to seeing their progress in the coming weeks."
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Herons will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 21, when they head to Fredonia, New York, to take on the Blue Devils at 1 p.m.