Full Results

BOSTON – In a meet that came down to the last event, it was the University of Massachusetts that swam away with a 158-142 win over Northeastern in the Huskies' Barletta Natatorium on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore Anna Schegoleva lead NU with four victories on the day, one of which was the opening 200 medley relay. She, alongside Julia Alvarez, Alli Gielowski and Kelley Becherer swam a quick 1:48.46 to earn the Huskies 11 crucial points. Nicole Colucci, Keary McClernan, Erica DeMunbrun and Chelsea Lim finished in third in the relay, earning two points for their 1:51.33 clip.

UMass got points back, however, with a first- and second-place finish in the next event, the 1000-yard freestyle. Jenny Doolin came in third, swimming the lengthy heat in 10:45.10. It was the first time all season that NU had run the 1000 free.

Schegoleva earned her second win of the afternoon, taking the 100-yard backstroke with a 58.99 finish. Dana Schleif wasn't too far back, claiming third with a 1:01.09 pace. Junior Julia Alvarez earned nine big points for the Huskies in the meet's next event, the 100-yard breaststroke. Alvarez, in her second win of the day, swam just two seconds faster (1:05.82) than senior teammate Keary McClernan, who came in second (1:07.68).

Event No. 6, the 200 butterfly, was perhaps the tightest of the afternoon. NU's Alli Gielowski was less than a quarter of a second from taking first place behind UMass' Jocelyn Yuen. After Gielowski in second, Julia Sepulveda was less than a half-second behind her in third place. In the next event, Kelley Becherer earned a second-place finish in the speedy 50-yard free, swimming 25.17 – about a second off her 2012 best time, set in the Nike Cup.

Going into the 3-meter diving portion, Northeastern held a close 68-63 lead over the Minutewomen.  NU freshman Megan Rutter made a splash onto the scene, taking second place in the event, accruing a 221.69 total score for the Huskies in six dives.

UMass gained more ground after taking Nos. 1-3 in the following event, the 100-yard freestyle. Becherer was NU's highest finisher in that event, coming in fourth with a 54.50 time. Event No. 10 boded well for Northeastern once more as Schegoleva earned another win. The Cyprus native swam a 2:06.39 clip in the 200 backstroke, blowing the competition out of the water by a shade under three seconds.

McClernan (2:23.66) and Alvarez (2:24.57) kept up the Huskies' momentum, taking first and second, respectively, in the 200 breaststroke. Freshman Taylor Brew also added some points to NU's cause in the heat, coming in fourth with a time of 2:33.39.

The crowd saw yet another tight battle between the two schools in the 500-yard freestyle. UMass finished one-two, with NU's Megan Foran in third for three points, but Foran was less than .20 seconds from taking second. In event No. 13, Alli Gielowski found herself with another win, swimming a time of 57.47.

UMass made a strong push in the team score at the end, thanks to taking 16 of 19 points in the 1-meter diving. Candace Young scored well for the Huskies, taking fourth with a total score of 215.18 in the day's 14th event.

Schegoleva made one last push on behalf of NU, completing the 200 IM in 2:09.17, finishing in first, just in front of teammate Julia Sepulveda (2:10.77). With 11 points on the line in the day-ending 400 freestyle relay, it was the Minutewomen who came away with the victory. NU's quartet of Taylor Brew, Nicole Colucci, Chelsea Lim and Jessica Colucci swam a clean 3:38.80, but it wasn't enough to overtake UMass in the end.

Northeastern will take time off after wrapping up the fall portion of the schedule. The Huskies will be able to enjoy the holidays until a training trip awaits them in Puerto Rico from Dec. 28-Jan. 5. The next time NU is in the pool, the Huskies will face CAA foes Delaware and Drexel in Philadelphia at noon on Jan. 12.