Swimming and diving strong in weekend meet vs. Hamilton

The Middlebury swimming and diving teams defeated the Hamilton teams in the Middlebury Natatorium this past Saturday afternoon, Jan. 16. Hamilton has historically had fairly weak swimming and diving teams, so this meet proved to be more of a training day than a serious competition. It allowed for new people to provide some points for Middlebury, though, as many of the top swimmers were still too sick to compete.

As co-captain Katie Remington ’10 pointed out, “we are just trying to hang in there for Winter Term.” There are many more meets in the season, and the teams are hoping that everyone recovers and is in good enough health to compete in the upcoming meet against Union.

The men won the meet by a fair margin, with the points finally tallying up to 156-137. The 400-yard medley relay team, consisting of John Dillon ’11, Matt Vukich ’11, Kazu Asaga ’12 and Nick Daly ’12, finished in 3:35.08, defeating the Hamilton team who swam a 3:45.26.

The men also took first and second in the 100-yard backstroke. Asaga came in first with a time of 54.99 and co-captain Schuyler Beeman ’10 was right behind him, finishing in 55.51. Dillon continues to dominate the butterfly, as he finished first in the 200-yard fly with a time of 1:56.36 and in the 100-yard fly with a time of 51.20.

Dillon provided Middlebury with additional points by winning the 200-yard inter-medley in 1:59.21.

The women defeated Hamilton by an even larger margin than the men with a final score of 174-114.

Like the men’s relay team, the Middlebury women’s 400-yard medley relay team also came in first. The all-rookie team consisted of Nora Daly ’13, Salena Casha ’13, Jen Friedlander ’13 and Audrey Tolbert ’13. The young swimmers competed impressively, finishing with a time of 4:09.15.

The second Middlebury medley team finished only seconds after the first and managed to place second in the event. This team consisted of Annie Friedlander ’11, Jessie Ward ’11, Katherine Loftus ’12 and Katie Remington ’10.

The women also took first and second place in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Co-captain Katie Soja ’10 displayed her endurance and power, taking first with a time of 11:09.25. Sarah Demers ’12 also proved her might as she steadily followed Soja, stealing second place with a time of 11:16.77.

The women also took first and second in the 200-yard freestyle. Loftus and Tolbert easily took first and second place respectively, as they both left the Hamilton swimmers in their wakes.

The women did not stop dominating there, however. They also took first and second in the 100-yard backstroke. Friedlander placed first with a time of 1:04.65 and Kelsey Allan ’12 came in second, finishing in 1:06.82.

This only scratches the surface of the wins the Middlebury swimming and diving teams compiled this weekend. The team’s confidence is on the rise as it enters this week’s training in anticipation of the upcoming meets.

Remington ended on an enthusiastic note, saying, “[We] are really looking for the end of the season; Union is going to be a big meet for us.” Union comes to Middlebury on Jan. 23 at 2 p.m.