The women’s swim team opened their season with strong performances all around, splitting its dual meet and overall record at 1-1. At Wesleyan, the Cards beat Bates College 162-117 on Nov. 18, inaugurating the season with a solid win, but dropped the meet at Amherst College on Nov. 20, 112-144.
The team won handily against Bates, with first place finishes in 10 of 14 events. Freestyle races were particularly strong for the Cards, with multiple swimmers earning points in each event and top three sweeps of the 50, 100, and 200 yard races.
Two days later at Amherst, however, the women placed first in just four of 14 events, though the Cards did finish in the top three in all races but one.
“We’re doing well considering our team is so small,” said co-captain Amanda Shapiro ’08. “Wes has only 12 swimmers, while other schools, like Amherst, often have over 20.”
Shapiro was the standout star at Amherst, finishing first in two events and recording a 1:05.81 in the 100-yard breaststroke, just .45 seconds off of the NCAA automatic qualifying time. Shapiro, an All-American, was named the National Division III Swimmer of the Week, an honor she received with total elation, but also humility.
“I know how many talented people I was up against,” she mentioned.
“She gave a tremendous performance,” said Head Coach Mary Bolich of Shapiro. “It’s a step in getting her where she wants to be at the end of the season. I think it’s a real confidence booster, not only for her.”
The rest of the squad continued to show its depth at both meets with wins coming from over half the team in various events, which Bolich stressed as a major contribution to the team’s overall success and improvement. Caitlin Bethlahmy ’09, who dropped ten seconds off her time in the 1000-yard freestyle between meets, finished competitively in three events at Amherst. Co-captain Kate Krems ’08 and Agnes Koczo ’09 each came in within the top three in two events. Both Bolich and Shapiro agreed that this year’s freshmen have already bought a lot of strength and spirit to the team.
“It’s great to see our freshmen really come through, to set their nerves aside and step up,” said Shapiro.
Cate Haring ’10 has been vital in distance events for the Cards so far, taking first place in the 500-yard freestyle at both Bates and Amherst, as well as anchoring the very successful 400-yard freestyle relay team.
“I love doing the relays,” Haring said. “They make it more of a team event. Everyone always does a really good job even at the end of the meet; everyone steps up.”
Their relay teams have been the Cards’ strength so far; perhaps contributing to their loss at Amherst was the lack of relay events offered.
“The relays are the best way to see how a team works together,” Shapiro said. “That’s where it shows how dedicated everyone is to working as a team.”
Bolich feels that the team can stand to be even more aggressive in their races, especially coming off the blocks.
“Building confidence—getting the front half out a little quicker—is the biggest challenge right now,” she said. “They’ve been more conservative going out but very strong coming home.”
“We try to build on each meet, and at each meet we fine tune things,” she added. “We try to put it all together for our best racing in the NCAA [meets in February.]”
The Cards will be given the chance to perfect their performances this weekend when they host the Cardinal Invitational. Racing against non-conference teams from MIT and Brandeis University will give the women a chance to face different, competitive squads before seeing again them at nationals in a few months.
“This weekend will be a big challenge, as we’re racing more races than we normally do,” Bolich said. “MIT is real tough but we want to be challenged. We’ll have some real close races.”
“This weekend is tough: it’s the time of year when the workload gets heavy and practices get harder, but we just need to continue to push through,” Shapiro added.
Students and staff are encouraged to support both the women’s and men’s teams this weekend at the Freeman Natatorium, with races starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.
“We’re small but deadly,” Shapiro promised.
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