The 23rd-ranked Panther women's swimming and diving team started the four-day NESCAC Championship on Thursday with a school record and a pair of impressive finishes during the 800-yard freestyle relay. Seventh-ranked Williams won the event and sits in first place with 90 points, while #10 Tufts is in second place (76 points) and the Panthers are third with 74 points. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury's "A" team was composed of Chloe Katz, Hannah Baumgartner, Anna McGrew and Lauren Jolley. The Panthers placed fourth out of 22 teams, clocking in at 7:30.31, lowering the previous record of 7:31.43. Thursday's time was also an NCAA 'B' cut and gave the Panthers 52 points.
• The "B" quartet of Sage Huddleston, Chloe Bautista, Grace Nadecki and Avery Maxwell touched the wall with an NCAA 'B' cut time of 7:35.68 to earn 22 points for Middlebury.

NOTES

• The meet is a highly-competitive event with four 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 Colby at #18, while Amherst, Bowdoin and Hamilton 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.