A close match-up against NESCAC teams Bowdoin and Colby this past Saturday saw the women’s swimming and diving team split their third meet in a row this season. The Cardinals were out-stroked by the Polar Bears 162-134 but managed to stay afloat against the Mules and came out on top with an 18-point lead. Unfortunately, the team’s season-long, undefeated streak in the 200-medley relay came to an end. Everyone still remains positive about the performances and optimistic about the challenges ahead.
“Once again, illnesses took out some of our team’s competitors, but the meet was very exciting,” said Amanda Shapiro ’08. “Although we didn’t get the end result we wanted, we had many great individual performances.”
Battling through winter ailments, the Cards managed to earn some first-place finishes and, once again, had a strong showing from the freshman class. Coming off of victories from their most recent meet, both Amelia Lupinetti ’11 and Cara Madden ’11 had another successful weekend. Lupinetti dominated the 400-yard IM with a 5.25-second triumph over the second-place Colby finisher, and Madden anchored the 200-yard backstroke with a 3.28-second lead.
“The freshman class as a whole has given crucial performances,” Shapiro said. “As freshmen, each experience of collegiate athletics is new and challenging. But their potential is through the roof, and we’re really looking forward to seeing how they do in NESCACs.”
The diving team also showed strong performances against Bowdoin and Colby. The Cards have consistently placed first or second in the one- and three-meter events this season. They continued the trend on Saturday, with Jessica Houghton ’08 triumphing in the three-meter dive and Roynan Krebs ’11 taking second in the one meter.
“This is the most talented and closely knit group of divers I have ever dove with in my four years at Wesleyan,” Houghton said. “Our results thus far this season have proven that. I’m looking forward to seeing how well we do at NESCACS.”
Wesleyan anticipates a win next Saturday in the dual meet against Coast Guard Academy, which will be the last competition of the regular season before the aquatic birds take a two-week break in anticipation of NESCACs. The diving team is particularly confident that it will dominate the competition against Coast Guard.
“Based on their scores from the past meets, it looks like we will finish both events with first, second and third place,” Houghton said. “If the team stays healthy and dives well, it will be an interesting meet. As a senior, I really hope to finish the regular season off with a strong performance.”
“[The team’s] goal is to have fun and stay positive,” Shapiro said. “With NESCACS approaching, this will be a great opportunity to practice our race techniques and focus on details.”
For the remainder of the season, the Cards will have home-pool-advantage. Coast Guard arrives in Middletown on Feb. 9 at 1 p.m., and the NESCAC Championship will be held in the Freeman Athletic Center from Feb. 22 through Feb. 24.
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