Sumiyoshi, Wecksell, head to nationals

Seniors Mika Sumiyoshi and Beth Wecksell have one more shot at glory, and both look to make the most of it.

The two headed to Nationals this past Wednesday to compete for the top spots in all of Division III swimming and diving at Principia College in Missouri.

Sumiyoshi is entered in three events: the 200 individual medley, the 400 IM and the 200 breaststroke. Wecksell will compete in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events.

Sumiyoshi, the two-time NESCAC champion in the 200 and 400 IM, will be competing at nationals for the fourth straight season and is looking to make it two straight years as an All-American. Wecksell, one of the top divers in New England, looks to leave her mark on the springboards for the second time, after competing in both events her sophomore year.

"They've both worked so hard this season and we expect them to do really well," sophomore Meghan Wallach said. "Mika's been in the pool training every single day since the season has ended. She's probably the best competitor I've ever met in my life."

Last year Sumiyoshi finished in the top ten in both the 200 and 400 IMs, while also competing in the 200 backstroke. She earned All-American honors with a fourth place finish in the 400 IM, coupling that by touching home in ninth place in the 200 IM.

She competed in the 200 IM yesterday, and while the final results were unavailable by press time, the fourth ranked Sumiyoshi finished seventh in the preliminaries with a time of 2:09.40 seconds, already improving her mark from last season.

She will compete today in the 400 IM, an event where she is ranked third in the nation with a seed time of 4:31.33, and will compete in the 200 breaststroke, a new event for her, on Saturday.

Wecksell competed in the one-meter diving event yesterday, and will compete in the three-meter event on Saturday. The Great Neck, NY native likely would have competed in nationals with Sumiyoshi last season as well, but she elected to study abroad for the spring semester.