Nine members of the University swim teams joined the Swim Across America program to make a splash for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston this past summer.

Carly Bollinger ’10, Agnes Koczo ’09, Catherine Kast ’09, Dede Horvath ’10, Cara Madden ’10, Niki Holtzman ’10, Andrew Walker ’09, Dan Storms ’10, and Ryan Beck ’10 all took part in the July 12 event, with Storms placing tenth as the team’s top finisher and fundraiser.

Each participant stroked one mile of open water save one.

“Agnes got lost and turned around halfway,” said Caitlin Bethlahmy ’10, who had to remove herself from the event at the last minute. “Agnes was actually awarded fastest mile time until they realized that she had turned around halfway and her award was revoked.”

The nine University swimmers represented the largest group of Wesleyan participants in the event’s history.

“A number of NESCAC schools participate every year and a few Wes swimmers have done it in the past,” Bethlahmy said. “But this was the first year that an organized group of swimmers participated, and hopefully next year we can swim again with an even larger group.”

The event was split into two days of swimming. Friday featured the thirteenth annual Boston Harbor 22-mile relay swim. Swimmers included everyone from former Olympians Janel Jorgensen, Jenny Thompson, and Craig Beardsley to weekend warriors who simply love the sport.

“Olympic summers are always fun for swimmers as there is a lot of enthusiasm for the sport,” Jorgensen, a Olympic 1988 silver medalist who is also the executive director of the organization, said. “While elite swimmers prepare for Beijing, Swim Across America adds to the excitement by giving everyday swimmers a chance to mingle and swim alongside several former Olympians while also raising valuable funds for the fight against cancer.”

Wes swimmers hit the water on the second day, at the tenth annual Nantasket 1.5-mile swim in Hull, Mass. Although they did not get to rub Speedos with the Olympians, the sense of common purpose permeated the entire weekend.

“It’s definitely fun to be able to swim alongside other NESCAC swimmers with whom we compete during the season,” Bethalahmy said. “The NESCAC team was one of, if not the largest group represented at the event, and the Wesleyan team was given an award for participation.”

Although there was no entry fee for the event, swimmers raised money individually through sponsorships. Swimmers entering Saturday’s event pledged a minimum of $150, and according to Bethlahmy, each of the University’s nine swimmers went above and beyond this amount.

Swim Across America is a non-profit corporation that organizes events from Boston to San Francisco, the proceeds of which support cancer research at the country’s finest hospitals and institutions. All money that University swimmers raised, along with all proceeds raised throughout the weekend, went to The David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Program at Dana-Farber, where experts help pediatric cancer survivors with an array of issues, including long-term effects of treatment, social and psychological concerns, and the risk of second cancers.

For more information, to register, or to give a gift, visit www.swimacrossamerica.org.