Iona College Women’s Swimming and Diving Team opened up January by cruising past conference rival Saint Peter’s College after a month long break. On Jan. 18, Iona hosted their opponent in a 131-90 victory at Hynes Athletic Center Pool.

Opening the meet, the foursome of freshmen Maria Skeivys, Sophia Hyokyvaara, junior Jamie Manser  and sophomore Theresa Harvey finished second in the 400-yard medley relay.

Sophomore Kara Nowakowski notched the first win for Iona in the 1000-yard freestyle, pacing the field with a time of 11:00.26. Nowakowski was well ahead of second place finisher, and teammate sophomore Victoria Ponzo who completed the race in 11:12.45. Senior Christine Larkin was able to finish off the Gael’s sweep by placing third in 11:36.94.

The Gaels continued to dominate the meet by sweeping an event for a second time. In the 50-yard freestyle Harvey led the way in 25.25 and freshman Kerri-Anne Dodenhoff was runner-up in 26.54. Senior Sarah Walker completed the sweep by touching the wall in 27.62.

In the 200-yard IM, junior Jamie Manser swam to a third place finish in 2:22.10.

In her second race, Ponzo was victorious in the 200-yard butterfly racing to a 2:17.10 finish adding to the Gael’s win total.

Iona continued to show they were the superior team by excelling in the 100-yard freestyle. Once again, Harvey won with a time of 54.43, while junior Mackenzie Mone was right behind in 55.37. Dodenhoff was able round out a third sweep with a time of 57.69.

In the 200-yard backstroke, Skeivys was second finishing in 2:11.23 and Freeman was third with a time of 2:19.59.

Nowakowski continued to be a bright spot for the Gaels by winning her second event of the evening. Her winning time of 5:23.18 was good enough to win the 500-yard freestyle. Teammate Doughty was third in the race, completing the event in 5:27.69.

Nowakowski commented on her two victories by saying, “My races, especially the 500 free, were tough while I was swimming them. We’re all still very tired from our training over winter break, so being able to pull off a win in the 500 after being so far behind for a majority of the race felt good. It’s good to know that our training these past few weeks is paying off.”

In the 200-yard breaststroke, Walker finished third in 2:32.83.

The 400-yard relay closed out the swimming events for Iona as they placed second in 3:50.55. The team included Dodenhoff, Doughty, senior Christine Williams and Mone.

The Gaels did not only dominate the swim events, but also the two diving events that were held. In the one-meter dive sophomore Briana Gongloff took first with an impressive 205.20 points. Freshman Melanie Dilascio placed second with 165.40 points and sophomore Jamie Colburn snagged third with 145.65 points.

In three-meter diving Iona took the top three spots with Gongloff picking up 197.63 points and Dilascio following with 180.75 points. Finishing the top three was Colburn