Last weekend Wesleyan saw the men’s and women’s swim teams welcome Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Clark University, Fairfield University, and Hamilton and Trinity Colleges to the Wesleyan Natatorium for the annual Cardinal Invitational. Having opened the season with losses to NESCAC, rivals Bates and Amherst, both the male and female AquaCards of 2011-2012, were especially hungry for their first wins heading into the competition, and when the surf had settled and the final score was tallied they had accomplished just that. The men turned in a respectable performance to finish third behind WPI and Hamilton and ahead of Trinity, Clark, and Fairfield, while the women were edged by Hamilton by the slimmest of margins (951-944.5), and had to settle for a respectable second place finish.

Exceptional swims by Erik Yan ’15, Brendan Fortin ’13, and co-captain Momo Saleh ’12 aided the men’s tally. Fortin and Saleh took first in the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke respectively, while Yan came in second in both the 50- and 100-yard butterfly.

Top finishes for the women included Alyssa Savarino ’14 and rookies Angela Slevin ’15, Erin Cohn ’15, Rachel Hirsch ’15, and Roxy Capron ’14, a transfer from Emory (currently ranked 1st nationally amongst Division III teams). Hirsch finished first in the 50-, 100-, and 200-yard breaststroke, and Capron finished second in all of those events. Meanwhile, Savarino, Cohn, and Slevin finished second in the 50-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley, and 100-yard backstroke, respectively.

The Lady Cards also earned second place finishes in four relay events. In the 200- and 400-yard Medley Relays, it was the combination of Slevin (backstroke), Hirsch (breaststroke), and Savarino (butterfly), and Elizabeth Baumgartner ’15 (freestyle) who pulled it off. Bailey Muchin ’15 joined Slevin, Baumgartner, and Savarino in the 200-yard freestyle medley, while Hirsch swapped in for Muchin for the 800-yard freestyle medley.

With another Cardinal Invitational come and gone, Wesleyan Swimming officially concludes home competition for the 2011 calendar year. The Cardinals have one more contest before the end of the semester, as they travel to Hartford for a dual meet this Friday at 5:00 pm. Hopefully they will be able to establish some momentum as they head into vacation and the height of the winter training season.