Lauren Lee, Samantha Smith Pace Boston College Sweep of BU
Lauren Lee and Samantha Smith won three times apiece as Boston College swept city rival Boston University on Saturday.
The women’s team claimed a 167-133 win over the Terriers. On the men’s side, the Eagles registered a 173-127 decision.
BC’s alliterative duo led the day, the Eagles losing only two swimming events on the women’s side. Smith went 2:00.63 to win the 200 butterfly, 1:59.12 to capture the 200 backstroke and 54.96 to lead teammate Olivia Brown in a 1-2 result in the 100 butterfly. Smith also led off the winning 200 medley relay.
Lee and teammate Olivia Howard went 1-2 in the 200 free, then Lee went 23.73 to lead mate Lizzie Oliphant to the wall in the 50 free. That pair was 1-2 in the 100 free as well, Lee first in 51.77, then Lee capped her day with a 51.93 leadoff leg on the Eagles’ winning 400 free relay. Oliphant, who also anchored the 200 medley relay, was the hero of the latter, her anchor split of 51.09 recouping a deficit to surge past BU’s A squad by .07 seconds.
Megan Kramer swept the 1,000 and 500 freestyle races. Liza Murtagh, who joined Brown on the 200 medley relay win, claimed both breaststroke races.
BU’s biggest success on the women’s side came in diving. Sophia Souza scored 289.73 points to win 3-meter diving on Friday, then led teammate Marina Cataldo in a 1-2 on 1-meter with 277.42 points on Saturday. Abby Han won the 100 back for the Terriers, and Haley Newman claimed the 200 individual medley after finishing second in the 200 fly.
The Boston College men got the win in style, setting three pool records in the process, all involving Jack Doyle. The senior went 1:46.56 in the 200 fly, clubbing a second off the pool mark set in 2020 by Kyle Floyd. He improved his own pool mark in the 200 IM by seven tenths, going 1:48.30. Doyle manned a leg on the Eagles’ 400 free relay, the quartet of Luke Condon, PJ Nolan and Noah Priest going 3:00.98. That’s 1.25 seconds quicker than the mark set in 2023.
The sprint nucleus formed the core of BC’s victory. Condon went 20.97 in the 50 free, part of a 1-2-3 sweep that included Priest and Roger Brown. The Eagles swept the podium in both breaststroke events, Darien Betances winning the 100 in 55.80, three tenths up on Aiden Bucaria, whose 2:02.16 claimed the 200 with ease.
Condon anchored the winning BC medley relay and was third in the 200 free, won by Nolan, who also claimed the 100 free. AJ Rosenberger scored 321.08 to lead a sweep on 3-meter Friday.
BU left Margot Connell Recreation Center with a nifty consolation prize via Giovanni Sullo’s win in the 1,000 free. It lowered the pool record of 9:17.83 set in 2023 by BC’s Zach Szmania. (Second-place Charles Schreiner of BU was near the mark, too, in 9:17.95.) Sullo’s time in second in program history, Schreiner’s fourth. Sullo and Schreiner also went 1-2 in the 500 free, Sullo’s winning time 4:29.08.
Jonny Farber pulled a backstroke sweep, with teammate Tony Ponomarev second in both. Jed Tan prevailed in the race of the day, his time of 49.55 edging Cathal Ryan of BC by .01 seconds in the 100 fly. Zein Mahana scored 320.02 points to win 1-meter diving.
