With only one session left in the NESCAC Championships at Williams College last weekend, Kate Krems ’08 secured her spot in the NCAA championships for the 100-yard butterfly. Shaving nearly one second off her previous time (one that was good enough to earn her an NCAA B cut honor), Krems recorded a time of 57.51 in her final time trial, .09 seconds away from the automatic qualifying mark.
“I didn’t expect to go as fast as I went. It was pretty unbelievable. I wanted to go [to nationals] freshman and sophomore year, and now Amanda won’t have to go alone,” said Krems, speaking of her co-captain Amanda Shapiro ’08, who competed in the NCAA tournament last year and will join Krems at this year’s event in Houston, Texas.
Along with Krems’ and Shapiro’s personal successes, the entire women’s swimming and diving teams capped off a solid season with an strong showing at the NESCAC championships. The three-day meet featured personal bests, continued improvement, and new school records. Overall, Wesleyan placed eighth out of eleven teams.
“They really came on superbly strong and even by the tail end of a three-day meet, every single one stepped up,” said head coach Mary Bolich. “It was an incredible meet.”
The Cards came out quickly on Friday, recording several top finishes. Shapiro took third in the 50-yard breaststroke and Krems second in the 50-yard butterfly. Caitlin Bethlahmy ’09 placed 17th in the 500-yard freestyle and Agnes Koczo ’09 finished 20th in the 50-yard freestyle.
Carly Bollinger ’09 cut four seconds off her preliminary time in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing 10th in that race but eclipsing the school record, previously held by Shapiro.
Bollinger continued to improve during the tournament, taking a staggering seven seconds off her prelim time in the 200-yard butterfly on Saturday.
“We all swam unbelievably fast, and I just think that at night I was more sure of myself,” said Bollinger of her significant time drops between morning and evening sessions.
Wes’ relay teams, a strong point all season, fared well also, with the 200-yard freestyle team coming in 10th and the 400-yard medley finishing fifth, just below the team B cutoff. In the meet’s final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, each leg was a personal best for each swimmer, with Shapiro, a breaststroke swimmer, clocking in her split fast enough to make the B team for the 100-yard freestyle and set a new school record.
The team’s success continued on Saturday, with Shapiro and Krems earning their trips to Nationals. Sunday, however, was the real test for the Cards. After two days and four sessions, the team didn’t swim as well as desired on the final morning.
“We were flat Sunday in the fifth session,” Bolich said. “One of our goals was to swim well in each of the six sets, and we didn’t quite get the job done then. But I think that’s why we were able to make some significant moves in the sixth session.”
Sunday evening, following Krems’ NCAA-securing swim, Bollinger swam her stellar 200-yard butterfly performance before the freestyle relay team stepped it up. Eliza Jones ’07, the team’s lone senior, swam her last 100-yard freestyle race and recorded a lifetime best.
“I was really surprised how well we did Sunday night,” Krems said. “I knew that we could do it, but with every one being dead tired and exhausted mentally and physically, we just swam as hard as we possibly could.”
The Cards held off Hamilton College, Bates College, and Trintiy College, boosting their final finish up one place from last year. Considering there are only 16 women on the team, including divers and two injured swimmers, Wes’ showing at Williams was certainly a season-ending finish to be proud of. Most other NESCAC rosters average more than 20 swimmers and divers.
“All week, and all season, we had great team chemistry,” Krems said. “I don’t think we could have ended the season better, in and out of the pool.”
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