Panther Swim Teams Finish Fast in Home Finale

The men and women’s swim teams hosted the Middlebury Invitational at the Natatorium during the first weekend of February break on Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1. NESCAC opponents Williams, Amherst, and Tufts participated along with Springfield and UVM. As has been the case in past Invites, no team scores were kept during the meet.

“[The Middlebury Invite] is a great place for us to rehearse for NESCACs and I think the results show that we have a lot to look forward to next weekend,” Co-Captain Mike Oster ‘14 said.

The women displayed their strength first and foremost in the relay events, winning two and finishing in the top four in the rest. The team of Andie Tibbetts ’14, Jennifer Koide ’17, Jamie Hillas ’15, and Morgan Burke ’17 won the 400-yard medley relay in 3:59.22, more than six seconds ahead of second-place UVM. Tibbetts, Hillas, and Burke also teamed up with Megan Griffin ’16 to win the 200-yard medley relay.

Koide led the way for the women, winning the 200-yard individual medley in 2:11.62 and the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:25.04. Nora O’Leary ’17 finished right behind Koide in the latter event with a time of 2:25.56.

Tibbetts, a senior captain, was also part of three victories, winning the 100-yard backstroke in 58.57 seconds in addition to her part in the two relays.

Also earning individual honors for the Panthers were Maddy Berkman ’15 in the 200-yard butterfly (2:11.11) and O’Leary in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.81).

“We swam incredibly well overall,” Tibbetts said. “It gives us the mental and emotional boost we need heading into NESCACs.”

The men’s best race of the day came in the 400-yard medley relay, which they won in a time of 3:30.39, just ahead of rival Williams (3:31.00). Ian MacKay ’14 led off with a time of 52.77 seconds in the backstroke, the second-fastest split of the event. He was followed by Stephan Koenigsberger ’16 (breaststroke), who put the Panthers well in the lead with a split of 56.71 seconds. Teddy Kuo ’15 (butterfly) and Paul Lagasse ’16 (freestyle) were able to hold off Williams as the Ephs attempted a comeback.

Though the men did not win any individual events, they highlighted the team’s depth with many top-five finishes. Michael McGean ’17 was second in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:44.51. MacKay earned a second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle, stopping the clock in 47.65 seconds.

The most impressive race of the day for the women was the 100-yard butterfly. The top four finishers were all Panthers, with Hillas finishing first with a time of 57.29 seconds.

The women are tapering their training this week in order to be ready for the NESCAC Championship, which will take place between Friday, Feb. 14 and Sunday, Feb. 16 at Williams.

The men, meanwhile, will have an extra week of training before their Championship meet, which will be held Feb. 21-23 at Bowdoin.

Both the men and women will hope to record qualifying marks for the NCAA championships, held March 19-22 in Indiana.