The women's swimming and diving team finished seventh out of 11 schools in the NESCAC Championships this past weekend at Wesleyan. However, the real surprise came from a standout swim by freshman Mika Sumiyoshi in the 400-yard individual medley (IM) relay, where she posted a time fast enough to automatically qualify her for the National Championships.
With her team and coach cheering her on, Sumiyoshi touched the wall in the 400 IM with a time of 4:43.80, putting her into second place and landing her a spot in the National Championships.
"I was hoping I would qualify, but I wasn't expecting to," Sumiyoshi said. "I didn't think I would drop so much time on my race."
The NESCAC Championship - which was won by Williams with relative ease - was what the Jumbos had geared their training for all season. Coach Nancy Bigelow had the team train hard through the season and then taper for this last meet, hoping to build strength, endurance, and technique while taking away from performances at meets that are not of high importance. The tapering of the training right before the important meets allows the swimmers to clock their optimal times when it counts.
"If someone is going to qualify for Nationals, they are going to do it at the NESCAC Championships," Bigelow said at the beginning of the season. There are two cut times in order to qualify for Nationals, an A time that automatically gives a berth in the race and a B time that gives a swimmer consideration, depending on the number of spaces left after the A qualifiers. The A cut time for the 400 IM is 4:34.99, a time Sumiyoshi beat by more than a second.
"For Mika to qualify under the A cut is phenomenal," Bigelow said. "It takes the pressure off, knowing that she is already in the championships."
In the preliminary race, which occurred earlier in the afternoon, Sumiyoshi swam the race in 4:38.08, almost four seconds slower than the A cut. The support of her team may have given her the push she needed to touch the wall in time to qualify.
"There was incredible support," Sumiyoshi said. "I don't think I would have swam as well if I didn't have the team behind me. The spirit was there through the whole meet. We all lost our voices cheering."
The 400 IM will not be the only event Sumiyoshi swims in the National Championships. Her second-place swim in the 200 backstroke (2:08.85) and her fourth-place swim in the 500 freestyle (5:09.19) both made the B cut times. Because she automatically qualified for the 400 IM, Sumiyoshi will be able to participate at the other two events at Nationals as well.
Sumiyoshi wasn't the only freshman to shine at the meet. Freshman diver Beth Wecksell made a name for herself in the one- and three-meter diving competitions, finishing ninth and tenth, respectively, in the two events.
"It felt great," Wecksell said, "but I was just happy to be there. As a whole [the diving team] tried its best, but the judges grade more difficultly at [the NESCAC Championships], so it was a little disappointing at first, but everyone did well in the end."
Another notable performance in the championship was that of senior tri-captain Kristin Horton. She touched the wall fifth in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:29.44. She also came in sixth place in both the 50 and 100 breaststroke with times of 32.11 and 1:09.30, respectively. She put in some of her fastest times in these races this season, despite being sick at the meet.
Overall, Bigelow was happy with the meet and proud of the team.
"It is hard to train all year and put so much effort into one meet at the end of the year," Bigelow said. "People were so excited about the swims they were having that everyone was having a good time. "I could go through each swimmer and list the great things they did."
Sumiyoshi will now continue her training for Nationals, which will take place on March 8-10 in Buffalo, New York.
"I've never been to Nationals before, so I don't know what to expect," Sumiyoshi said. "It is not going to be as exciting, though, because I won't have my team with me."
Sumiyoshi will not have to train alone however. The theme for the Jumbos this season has been team support and, for many, this theme has stuck with them, even though their season is officially over. A number of girls have volunteered to swim and train with Sumiyoshi, so she does not have to do it alone.
This meet was the last meet for the team. As far as the season as a whole, Bigelow is pleased with how it went.
"Everyone worked long and hard," Bigelow said. "Everyone tried to make this a team unit. I'm proud of what they've done and what they've accomplished."
