Last year marked the beginning of a resurgence for Wesleyan’s women’s swimming and diving squad, as the Cardinals finished 10th out of 11 in NESCAC Finals. Last weekend they moved up to eighth, thanks in part to the butterfly stylings of Kate Krems ’08 and the relay teams.
The Cards scored 692 points, well behind NESCAC Champion Williams, but six Wesleyan records were broken.
After the team got a solid start in the 200-yard freestyle relay on Friday, Krems finished fifth as she scorched the water of the Middlebury pool in the 50 butterfly, setting a team record of 26.41 seconds, the first of two individual marks set over the weekend. Mikki Columbus ’05 also started well, completing the 50 backstroke in fifth place. In the 50 free, Joanna Tice ’07 and Eliza Jones ’07 tied for tenth, each touching the wall in exactly 24.90 seconds. Over the course of Friday and Saturday, the squad of Columbus, Krems, Amanda Shapiro ’08—another of the freshman sensations on the team—and Tice posted consecutive record times in the 400 and 200-medley relays. The team finished fourth and sixth, making the NCAA Division III B Cut. Krems later tore down the standard for the 100 fly and swam a personal best in the 200 fly.
“My goal was to get the best times in every event, not to break records, but I did know that if I got best times I would break the records in the 50 and the 100,” Krems said. “I didn’t really think about the records at all, I was just focused on putting all of my hard work throughout the season towards all of my races at NESCACs and swimming as fast as I possibly could.”
Stephanie Lasby ’06 also had a strong performance Saturday as her 10:46.71 in the 1000 free earned her sixth place and valuable points in the standings. During trials for the 100 breaststroke, Shapiro broke her own team record by swimming the race in 1:06.84, but during the race, she managed only 1:08.73. In the final event of the weekend, the team of Krems, Columbus, Shapiro and Tice pulled out one last record, a 3:36.46 clocking in the 400 free relay.
“I can’t point to one single person who ‘got’ us the points to move ahead [two places in the standings]—it’s just a combination of the team performing to the best of our ability,” said Sarah Myksin ’06, a team co-captain. “We all knew that in the morning sessions, we had to make it back [finish in the top 24] so that we could score points for the team. It was also key that the relay swimmers made sure that they had safe starts, since relays make up a huge chunk of the point total.”
The freshmen who joined the team this year proved instrumental in propelling the Cards toward the top of the NESCAC. The Cards have several swimmers who made B Cuts for the NCAA this year, and they should hear from the NCAA about whether they will swim at finals in Holland, MI March 10-12.
“Overall, the NESCAC is becoming a faster and faster league,” Myskin said. “The time difference is incredible even in the three years that I’ve been here, and I think our program is beginning to improve at a rate slightly faster than the league itself, helping us to climb in the overall standings.”
“I am thrilled with my performances and the performances of the team,” Krems said. “I am very excited that I still have three seasons with the team– three seasons in which I can improve my times and help the team improve as a whole. In my opinion, we have nowhere to go but up from here.”
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