PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Maritime women's swimming team took part in the Skyline Conference Championship swim meet on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and finished the event in fourth position with a team score of 89.5 points.
 
The jump to fourth position came after the Privateers were sitting in sixth position after the first day of swimming on Friday night. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy won the title with a score of 483.5, followed by Mount St. Mary at 368.5. Sarah Lawrence was third at 256 points, while the Privateers edged out St. Joseph's (LI) by a 5.5 point differential. Purchase (78), St. Joseph's (Bklyn) (37), Old Westbury (24), and Mount St. Vincent (21.5) rounded out the field.
 
Junior Sarah Soulagnet (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Homeschooled) got the night started for the Privateers in the 200 medley relay, as her backstroke time was 32.36. Sophomore Emily Zink (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) recorded a 36.23 in the breaststroke, while classmate Katia Aaron (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence) collected a 31.69 in the butterfly before freshman Katherine Green (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) picked up a 25.94 in the freestyle for a team time of 2:06.22. The time was good enough for sixth place as the Privateers opened the night with 18 points.
 
Aaron followed that up with a time of 12:51.77 in the 1,000 freestyle, while senior Ashley O'Brien (Queens, N.Y./Mary Louis Academy) earned a 14:10.01 in the event. Aaron was Maritime's top finisher in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:18.42, followed by freshman Gabrielle Thompson (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) with a 2:25.31, which broke her previous career time of 2:30.82. Juniors Abigail Granit (Forked River, N.J./Lacey Township) and Gabrielle Kempski (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson), sophomores Erica Davis (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) and Megan Alicea (Copake, N.Y./Taconic Hills), and freshman Bethany Champlin (Bronx, N.Y./Saint Vincent) also competed in the 200 freestyle.
 
Soulagnet paced the field of Privateers in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:13.33 as she finished 17th overall in the event. Senior Danielle Leahy (Cocoa Beach, Fla./Cocoa Beach) fell just shy of re-setting her personal best in the backstroke as she collected a time of 1:14.52. Zink earned a 1:16.48, while junior Jessica Yee (Freehold, N.J./Freehold) rounded things out for Maritime with a time of 1:24.27.
 
Zink notched one point for the Privateers in the 100 breaststroke as she swam to a 1:20.84. The Privateers finished up the opening night with the 50 freestyle, which saw Green add needed points for Maritime as she collected a 26.45 and finished in fifth position. Soulagnet took 10th with a time of 27.35. Thompson, Leahy, Yee, Champlin, Davis, Alica, Kempski and freshman Maura Neely (Towson, Md./Maryvale Prep) rounded out the event for the Privateers of the 60 entries during the 10-heat event.
 
At the end of the opening day, Maritime had 31.5 points overall, which was only good enough for sixth place at the time. However, the team used its late momentum to propel into action on Saturday afternoon.
 
Green opened Saturday's action with a bang as she collected another fifth place finish to give the Privateers 10 more points in the 100 freestyle as she clocked in at 57.43. Leahy was Maritime's top finisher in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:47.13, which was 17th best amongst the field.
 
Zink added another five points for the Privateers in the 200 breaststroke with a new personal best time of 2:54.31. Neely also took part in the 200 breast and finished with a 3:25.56. Aaron followed up with another strong finish for Maritime as she took sixth place to earn nine points in the 500 freestyle as she collected a time of 5:44.46.
 
Green took fifth place once again for the Privateers with a time of 1:04.55 during the 100 butterfly as she netted an additional 10 points as Maritime looked to move up in the standings. Aaron was the second Privateer to finish as she added two more points with a time of 1:07.48. Zink picked up two more points in the 200 individual medley with an 11th place finish as she collected a time of 2:36.86 to close out the individual scoring for the Privateers.
 
The final event of the day for the women was the 400 yard freestyle relay, which saw Maritime's quartet of Aaron, Zink, Soulagnet, and Green finished with a time of 4:04.06. O'Brien, Davis, Thompson and Leahy made up Maritime's second relay; while the quartet of Granit, Champlin, Yee and Alicea comprised the team's third relay.
 
Maritime (7-6, 5-4 Skyline) will close out its dual meet schedule next Saturday, when the Privateers visit non-conference New Paltz at 1 p.m. from Elting Pool.