The women's swimming and diving team fought hard at home against Bates on Saturday, but fell just short of a victory, losing 156-144. Tufts kept the pressure on throughout the meet, which was highlighted by strong performances from the diving team, especially freshmen Mika Sumiyoshi and Kierstyn Thayer.
In a race where even third- and fourth-place finishers made a big difference, the Jumbos just missed getting the points they needed to win. Not only was the meet a close one in terms of points, but each individual race was close as well. First and second place were less than a second apart in nine of the 14 swimming races, and in the 50-yard backstroke, the 100 freestyle, and the 100 individual medley, first and third place were also less than a second apart.
Bates got off to an auspicious beginning, finishing first and second in the 200 medley relay. However, Tufts picked up ground in the 400 individual medley relay and the 200 freestyle with first-place finishes by Sumiyoshi. Sumiyoshi swam a commanding race in the individual medley with a time of 4:44.86, almost six seconds ahead of second place finisher Jill Kopicki of Bates. Despite swimming again almost immediately after, Sumiyoshi also edged out Bates swimmer Gudrun Mirick by less than a tenth of a second in the freestyle event.
"Mika had a great meet," coach Nancy Bigelow said. "We asked her to do a lot, swimming the 400 IM and the 200 freestyle back-to-back, and she came through."
Sumiyoshi's back-to-back first-place finishes were followed by a first-place finish by Thayer in the 50 backstroke and a second-place finish by senior tri-captain Kristin Horton in the 50 breaststroke. Thayer came in first with a time of 29.96, just out-touching her teammate, sophomore Daniele Blaney. Horton fell just short of defeating Megan Ferrari of Bates in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 33.22.
Despite the swimmers' best efforts, the team was down by 13 points when the divers took the board. Led by two first-place finishes in the one meter by freshman Beth Wecksell, the divers were able to pull the Jumbos ahead by 11 points. Wecksell won the first round of diving with a score of 186.65 and the second round with a score of 152.25. She was followed with two second-place finishes by sophomore Angela Russo, who had scores of 161.55 and 142.45. Also contributing to the divers' 31 points was sophomore Lauren Reveley (131.95) with a third-place finish in the second round of diving and senior captain Sally Abbott (129.95) with a fourth-place finish in the first round.
"The divers were awesome," Bigelow said. "They really came through for us and allowed us to keep it close."
"We are diving well," Abbott said. "There are a bunch of us qualifying for New Englands, so we are excited."
Unfortunately, Tufts could not hold on to the lead, despite a win by Sumiyoshi in the 500 freestyle and an exciting win by the Tufts 200 freestyle team consisting of freshman Amanda Bloom, sophomore Ashley Jennings, Blaney, and Sumiyoshi.
"It was a great meet," Bigelow said. "We had to compromise on the program. It would have been nice to swim more of our strengths. We had good times, a lot of people improved. It is disappointing to lose but you have to find the little positives along the way."
Many of the swimmers did improve on their times from earlier in the season. Horton swam a season best in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:32.5.
"I was happy with my times," Horton said. "It was my best swim by far all year. It felt good."
Perhaps it was the spirit and determination of the team - a determination that was obvious to any spectator at Hamilton Pool - that helped to push swimmers to better times.
"The spirit was very high, especially towards the end," Horton said. "Everyone was standing and cheering. That is swimming at its best."
The team will continue to prepare for the NESCAC Championships, which will be held in mid-February. The Jumbos are now 4-2 for the season with three meets left to go before the postseason begins.
"We'll have a great end of the year," Horton said. "We are tired now, but we will be rested by then. We'll put in a good showing."
