The 19th-ranked Panther women's swimming and diving team began its hosting duties of the four-day NESCAC Championship on Thursday with a pair of impressive finishes during the 800-yard freestyle relay in the Middlebury Natatorium. Fourth-ranked Williams won the event and sits in first place with 90 points, while two-time defending champion and #9 Tufts is in second place (76 points) and the Panthers are third with 72 points. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury's "A" team was composed of Chloe Katz, Louise Hay, Hannah Baumgartner and Avery Maxwell. The Panthers placed fourth out of 22 teams, clocking in at 7:34.78. The time was an NCAA 'B' cut and gave the Panthers 52 points.
• The "B" quartet of Chloe Bautista, Grace Nadecki, Molly Nordquist and Isabel Pentony finished with a time of 7:45.14 to earn 20 points for Middlebury.

NOTES

• The meet is a highly-competitive event with five teams entering the weekend having a national ranking in the latest College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Top 25 poll. Joining the top-three teams is Bates at #21, while Amherst, Bowdoin and Colby are each receiving votes.

The Panthers are back in action on Friday with preliminaries starting at 10:00 a.m., followed by diving at 2:00 p.m. and the finals in the evening.