VanderMeer, Chirico Get All-America Honorable Mention

Members of the swimming and diving team completed their season from March 21–24 in Indianapolis at the NCAA Championships. The weekend consisted of new records and All-American honors for several members of the swimming and diving program.
Frances VanderMeer ’20 opened the meet with a record-breaking performance in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.41. This time lowered her previous school record of 23.51. In the finals, VanderMeer placed 14th with a time of 23.62, which earned her an All-America honorable mention.
VanderMeer competed in the 100-yard butterfly on the second day of the meet and in the 100-yard freestyle at the meet’s conclusion. Her time of 57.03 in the 100-yard butterfly placed her 33rd in the event, while in the 100-yard freestyle, she clocked in at 51.39. Placing 18th in the freestyle, VanderMeer was only 0.02 seconds off from getting a chance to compete in the final heat.
VanderMeer represented Middlebury in a whopping six events. Along with her three individual events, she had a leg in the 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard medley relay, and the 400-yard freestyle relay. The 200-yard relay, consisting of VanderMeer, Maya Gomez ’20, Stephanie Andrews ’18, and Erin Kelly ’21, clocked a 1:36.19 time that booked them a 20th-place finish.
In the 400-yard medley relay, VanderMeer, Gomez, Andrews, and Sarah Bartholomae ’18 finished 21st with a time of 3:52.67.
On the last day of competition, VanderMeer, Andrews, Gomez, and Kelly competed in the preliminary rounds of the 400-yard relay. The relay marked a time of 3:31.67 and placed 26th in the event.
Gomez also competed in six events for the Panthers. Her best performance came in the 100-yard breaststroke, on the third day of competition, where the sophomore placed 11th with a time of 1:03.35. On the final day of the championships, Gomez swam a 2:25.84 in the 20-yard breaststroke to place 38th. In the 100-yard butterfly, she placed 40th with 24.02.
Mike Chirico ’20 participated at NCAAs for the first time, competing on the boards for the Panthers. Chirico was unfazed by the big stage and posted strong performances in the one- and three-meter diving competitions.
In the 3m competition, Chirico placed 15th with 420.65 points, which was good enough to earn the sophomore an All-America honorable mention. On the 1m boards, Chirico’s performance earned him 433.20 points and a 13th-place finish.
The women’s side finished the meet with 8.5 team points, which put them in 37th in the 51-team field, ending the season on a high note.