PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The women's swimming and diving team finished the first of three days at the Metropolitan Championships by ranking eighth out of 14 total teams and eighth out of 12 Division III squads.  The Pioneers competed in four finals Feb. 21 while notching multiple personal bests and 98 points over the course of the day.   
 
TOP PERFORMERS:

• Junior diver Sara Haller (Cupertino, Calif./Monta Vista) placed fifth in the finals of the one-meter dive by recording 327.32 points.
• Megan Hoopes (Westmont, N.J./Haddon Twp.) earned a new personal best in the 500 free with her performance of 5:32.86 in the preliminary round of the race.  The sophomore later placed 4^th in the C Finals of the same event (5:34.81).
• The WP 200 free relay team posted a second-place finish in the B Final after touching the wall in 1:47.45.  The quartet consisted of Hoopes (25.91), freshman Jillian Starace (Toms River/Toms River East) (27.20), senior Anna Boyton (Sewell, N.J./Clearview Regional) (28.19) and sophomore Taylor Friedman (South Amboy, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) (26.15).
• The 400 medley relay squad also finished second in the B Final to conclude the first day of the competition weekend.  Friedman (1:05.71), senior Mariah Jenkins (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour) (1:15.88), Boyton (1:05.65) and Hoopes (56.50) combined for a time of 4:23.74. 

IN THE NUMBERS:

• Junior Sarah Myers (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) tallied a new personal best in the 500 free when she touched the wall in 6:49.05 during the prelims.
• Emily Murphy (Stockholm, N.J./Walkhill Valley Regional) also notched a personal best during the prelims.  The freshman finished the 200 IM in 2:44.00.
• Freshman Stephany Bolanos (Perth Amboy, N.J./Academy for Allied Health & Biomedical Sciences) was another Pioneer that had a career performance.  Her 30.32 finish in the 50 free prelims was over a second faster than her previous personal best.   

 
UP NEXT:

• The second day of the Metropolitan Championships takes place tomorrow, Sat. Feb. 22, with prelims beginning at 9:30 a.m.  The meet in Piscataway, N.J. takes place at Rutgers University. 

 
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