CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – On the first night of the MIT Winter Invitational – a yearly event that has occurred in December for the past few seasons – the women's swimming team commenced the three day event with an impressive performance in the 800 yard freestyle event.

Senior Emmie Ryan (Avon, Ind.), junior Katherine Yu, sophomore Veronika Jedryka (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and freshman Mary Thielking (Fishers, Ind.) combined for a first place finish in the initial event – the 800 yard freestyle relay – with an overall time of 7.28.88. Their time – an NCAA B cut – established a new school record, beating the program's original mark by three seconds.

In the 1650 yard freestyle, Thielking registered an NCAA B cut with an overall time of 17.24.72. She finished second in the event, a few seconds shy of Harvard University junior Marlee Ehrlich (Cherry Hill, N.J.), who finished first in the event with a time of 17.11.93.

MIT returns to the pool tomorrow for the second day of the invite, as they'll compete in two sessions – one at 10:30 a.m. and the other at 6:00 p.m.