Women wash-over Hamilton and Union Two more dominant performances in the pool take record to impressive 5-1

Author: Sarah Poling Luehrman

After four straight victories in the last three weeks, the Middlebury women's swimming and diving team enters the second half of the season with an exceptional record of 5-1 and hopes for more success ahead. Though on the road for the last two weekends, the Panthers nonetheless defeated Hamilton 147-91 on Saturday, Jan. 15 and easily topped Union 204-95 the following Saturday, Jan. 22. "Typically," said Head Coach Peter Solomon, "the Union College meet comes at a time in our schedule when the swimmers are looking to compete in some other events and add a bit of variety to their racing routine." The meet at Union was indeed the last away meet before the MIT Invitational in February, just before the NESCAC Championships.

Individual performances in both swimming and diving continue to exceed expectations and break records. At Hamilton, Sara Cowie '08 won both the 200m free and the 500m free and set a pool record with a time of 10:36.61 in the 1,000m free. The following weekend at Union, Cowie delivered another victory in the 1,650m free. The latter was a particularly exciting event for Cowie and for the entire team; her time of 17:36.59 is a NCAA "B" standard, and ranks her eighth in NCAA Division III. Solomon described her performance as a highlight of the Union meet.

Other swimmers contributed remarkable individual victories to the team as well. Marika Ross '08 picked up a pair of wins at each meet, dominating the 200m IM and 200m fly at Hamilton and the 200m free and 50m fly at Union. Not only did she take home as many individual victories between Hamilton and Union as any other swimmer, but she also contributed her speed to two winning relay teams. The Panthers won the 200 medley relay at Union with Ross, Pam Chatikavanij '08, Becca Reingold '07 and Katie Chambers '08, and the 400m free relay at Hamilton with Ross, Chatikavanij, Liz Rice '07 and Barbara Van der Veer '07. Van der Veer swam to victory individually as well, with two key wins at Hamilton in the 50m free and the 100m free. Reingold and Chatikavanij each picked up an individual win at Union in addition to their relays, Reingold in the 50m back and Chatikavanij in the 100m free. McKenna Moreau '06 also contributed multiple victories to Middlebury's score in the 200m back at Hamilton and the 200m free and 100m back at Union. Other winning swimmers at Union were Emily Molitor '08 in the 100m fly, Anna Flores '08 in the 100m breast and Katie Chambers '08 in the 400m IM.

At the other end of the pool, Tessa Truex '05 continues to control the diving board. In this, "her best season ever," according to Solomon, she has already made the NCAA cut many times over. Truex won both the 1 meter diving and the 3 meter diving events at Hamilton and at Union. "It is amazing to know where she started as a freshman," said Solomon, "and to see her progress over the years to be one of the best NESCAC and NCAA women divers."

This weekend, the Panthers will face Williams, the winner of four consecutive NESCAC Championships, in the Middlebury Natatorium and Dartmouth the following weekend. The season now begins to wind down and the swimmers begin to taper and rest for the impending championships, hosted by Middlebury this year for the first time.

In 2003 the Panthers finished third in NESCAC behind runner-up Amherst and winner Williams. Last year they came in second, topping Amherst and coming ever closer to the Ephs. They hope to improve their performance even more in 2005 and will give Williams a tough meet this weekend. "In addition to these national standards being achieved, it is good to see both teams making the incrimental drops in time each weekend," said Solomon. "Our team is shaping up nicely for a great championship season where we will try to peak each of the swimmers and divers to do their personal best."