Panthers CAN Swim Middlebury Takes Stellar Second

Author: David Freedman

The Middlebury women's swimming and diving team fought their way to a strong second place finish at the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships this weekend, a satisfying capstone that, for the majority of the women on the team, signals the end of their season. Head Coach Peter Solomon called the team's second place finish "one of the most successful meets that I've ever experienced in the last six years here as the Middlebury swimming coach."
With just about every swimmer on the Panthers' NESCAC team improving their times in almost every event, Middlebury improved upon last year's outstanding third place finish despite a rookie-laden squad. Middlebury finished behind a powerful Williams College squad that should finish in the top two or three in the country.
"I couldn't have asked for a better meet to finish the season off with," Solomon said. He was proud of the dedication and effort that his swimmers showed in the pool and on the sidelines this past weekend. Teammates were cheering on teammates despite just having recovered from finishing their own events. The men's squad also came along and showed tremendous support for the Panthers.
The true story of the day was how significantly Middlebury has improved this season. Sarah Groff '04 dropped 13 seconds in the 500-yard freestyle to win the event, and the following day won the 1650-yard freestyle in resounding fashion. Mollie Reed '06 came out of nowhere to finish in fifth place in the 500-yard freestyle, dropping 14 seconds on her personal best and qualifying for an NCAA "B" cut. Kellianne Egan '04 finished third in the 1650-yard freestyle with an NCAA "B" cut, and she put more points on the board for Middlebury with her second place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle event. Leigh Bayer '05 reduced her personal best time by eight seconds in the same event to grab third.
Solomon was particularly proud of the seniors, Jaylene Orange '03, Kristen Watson '03 and Carrie MacDonald '03, "who finished the season off magnificently with great performances." Fellow senior Alyson Lipsky swam extremely well, posting a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle event to earn an automatic qualifying time for Nationals. Karen Johnson '03 and Sarah Schaffer '03 swam career personal best times despite not placing in any finals heats. They both finished under the one-minute mark in the 100-yard freestyle, a swimming milestone in this event.
McKenna Moreau '06 finished third in many of the backstroke events behind girls who will likely finish in the top three in Division III swimming. Kate Miller '05 got a personal best in the 200-yard backstroke event and earned a NCAA "B" cut in the 400-yard individual medley as well.
All in all, eight of the women's swimmers will tentatively be moving on to the NCAA championships on March 13 to 15: Groff, Reed, Moreau, Lauren King '05, Teague Douglas '06, Martha Goeble '04, Lypsky and Egan.
Next season, the Panthers will count on a core of seasoned veterans to continue their winning tradition. Although the team is losing a number of seniors, it remains balanced with sophomores and juniors representing each event.