Swimmers sweep the series easily

Author: Simon Keyes

Parents, relatives and friends filled the Natatorium to the brim this weekend to watch both the men's and women's swim teams sweep NESCAC opponents Colby and Bates. Those family members who visited on the swim team's parents' weekend were not disappointed by the contests. The women beat Colby 147-104 and Bates 160-128, while the men finished with 137-99 and 162-73 victories.
The swimmers were especially excited to compete after a grueling week-long training trip to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The swimmers knew beforehand that there would not be much time for the beautiful beaches in the area. Katie Soja '10 noted, "Coach told us that the trip was the hardest he had ever planned. We were in the pool sometimes up to four hours a day and we did a lot of land training."
Some of the swimmers may have been a little worn out from the trip, but you would not have been able to tell after watching them swim circles around the Colby and Bates swim teams.
Against Colby, the men won all but two events, and often finished first and second. Zach Woods '09 set the tone early with an exciting victory in the 50-yard backstroke. The entire pool knew that the race would come down to a battle between Woods and Colby's All-American swimmer, Jabez Dewey. So with all eyes in the Natatorium focused on Woods' and Dewey's lanes, Woods prevailed, edging Dewey by a mere six one-hundredths of a second with a time of 25:06.
Later on in the 100-yard backstroke, Woods would again deny Colby's All-American. Trailing just before the final length, Woods would make a terrific final turn to come back and steal the event from Dewey with a time of 52:84.
Also encouraging were the contributions given by the first-years on the team. Schuyler Beeman '10 won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22:20. In the diving pool, first-year Brooks Farrar won the one-meter diving competition with a cumulative score of 256.99.
The women shared similar success as Colby managed only two victories - both by their All-American Kelly Norsworthy - in all the events. Captain Rebecca Reingold '07 led the charge with victories in the 50-yard backstroke and the 50-yard butterfly. The team swam swiftly all day and the match was well out of reach before the meet's concluding relay races were held.
Bates provided no more of a challenge than did Colby. Even with many swimmers competing in "off events," or in events that they would not usually participate in, the men easily beat a Bates team that fielded only eight men.
Captains Rob Collier '07 and Tim Lux '07 started quickly with a nice 1-2 finish in the 200 yard freestyle. Freshman Schuyler Beeman '10 followed an impressive Saturday showing with wins in the 100-yard freestyle and 100 yard backstroke. After the meet, Beeman said, "I'm very happy with my swims, and the teams' swims. Now I'm just hoping to continue to work hard, improve and win our next few meets, especially our meet against Williams."
The women also put their meet away early, owing in large part to the first-years. Yu Wang '10 racked up wins in the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke, while Soja won the 400-yard IM as well as the 1650-yard freestyle. Her time in the freestyle of 17:43 qualified her for the B-class of this year's NCAA finals, which are being held this year in Houston, Texas.
"Overall it was an awesome weekend," said Katie Remington '10. "We all proved something to ourselves and, more importantly, to all the parents who attended the meet. It was great seeing all the training we put in down in Florida paying off, as lots of us swam personal bests."
With matches at Union and Hamilton in the upcoming weeks, both teams are sure to be hard at work. The very important meet versus Williams is on Jan. 27.