On Saturday, Feb. 5, the Wesleyan swimming and diving teams took the plunge into the home natatorium for their final contest of the regular season, squaring off against the Coast Guard Academy in dual-meet action. The women’s team defeated Coast Guard in dominating fashion, 206-93, taking 14 of the 16 events, including both relays, while the men’s team fell short against the visiting Bears, 192.5-75.5.

Cara Colker-Eybel ’13 (100 and 200 free) and Cara Madden ’11 (100 and 200 backstroke) were once again standout performers for the Cardinals, taking two individual events apiece. Colker-Eybel was rewarded with additional honors, earning NESCAC performer of the week for her efforts. The two Caras were not at it alone; however, as there were eight other individual winners for the Cardinals. Ally Anderson ’13 and Rachel Cohen ’12, added first-place freestyle finishes, in the 50 and 1000, respectively. Rosy Capron ’14 and Tess Lemon ’14 combined to sweep the breaststroke events, as Capron touched in first in the 100 and Lemon in the 200. Alyssa Savarino ’14 prevailed in the 100 butterfly while the 200 butterfly was taken by Julia Fram ’12. The Cardinals nabbed top honors in both diving events as well. Naima Ford ’11 outmatched the competition in the one-meter, while Sam Maldonado ’13 placed first in the three-meter. The emphatic victory moved the Cardinals record to 9-4 overall, 5-4 in dual meets.

Although the Cardinal men were not as successful this past weekend, Martin Kafina ’13 was among Wesleyan’s top performances, taking first place for the Cardinals in the 200 butterfly by a wide margin of well over two seconds. The men’s team finished up the regular season with a 4-9 record overall, 3-6 in dual meets. Both squads are without a meet this upcoming weekend, but they will be training as intensely as ever with NESCAC championships quickly approaching. The women’s team will head to Williams to compete for the conference title over the span of Feb. 18-20. The men’s team will attempt to do the same a week later, from Feb. 25-27, up at Bowdoin College. Last year the men’s team finished seventh out of 11 at the conference championships while the women’s team placed ninth out of 11.