Swimmers Flossing in Preseason Scrimmages

Author: David Freeman

The Middlebury men's and women's swimming and diving coach Peter Solomon has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the fast-approaching season. In a scrimmage with Norwich College and Plymouth State College where no scores were tabulated for the Panthers but race times were recorded, both the men and women showed tremendous potential for the upcoming season. Middlebury lost only one of 32 events in the preseason warm-up, but there was a great amount of intra-team competition that kept the squads working hard.
Despite graduating what Solomon called an "amazing senior class" that led the men's team to a 2002 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship and the women's side to a close third-place finish, the team retained a strong arsenal of young swimmers. This season's teams will try to build off last year's success.
Saturday's scrimmage indicated that the team is committed to both winning and improving on last year's success. Perhaps most importantly, it showed that an extremely talented group of first-years will play an integral part in that process. Rookies finished first in 13 of the 24 individual events, recording veteran-like times that left fans and coaches alike bewildered. Solomon had only compliments for this year's entering class and was "pleasantly surprised with [their] quality and depth."
McKenna Moreau '06, Electra Smith '06, Teague Douglas '06 and Lily Knopman '06 were all two-event winners for the women's side, illustrating the depth of the 14-swimmer rookie class. Combined with Kellianne Egan '04 and Elizabeth DeWitt '04, the foursome should help dominate both distance and sprint freestyle races, as well as the backstroke and breaststroke.
On the men's side, there were not as many standout performances, but the scrimmage clearly demonstrated a deep and well-rounded squad. Several first-years performed strongly, with Alex Demas '06, Scott Atkinson '06, Jamie Lamere '06 and Rob Hillas '06 all taking at least one victory on the day. Atkinson, who has not raced competitively in three years, is happy to be part of what he calls a "solid class with a good core." Though young, the group already seems to understand the importance of leadership, as Atkinson showed some deference to the team veterans.
"We owe [our] success to the team captains, Ricky Barfuss '03, Andrew Sterling '03 and Stephen Kinney '03."
While the teams have reloaded this year with a potentially outstanding rookie class and a strong group of upperclassmen, next week's season opener at Springfield College will mark their first true test.