The women's swimming and diving team crushed the Bowdoin Polar Bears on Saturday, winning by 65 points (177-112), as the Jumbos improved their record to 3-0 on the season.
The victory came as no surprise for the team, and coach Nancy Bigelow was optimistic entering the meet. "This was a little more relaxed than the meet against Wellesley. Everyone did a great job," she said afterwards. "It is really exciting to be 3-0."
Facing weak competition, the meet gave the freshmen an opportunity to shine. They met the challenge and collected eight of the 11 Jumbo victories for individual races.
Freshmen Kate Sweeney and Sarah Ferranti led the way, each winning two individual races. Ferranti took first place in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:05.17 and first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:06.88. Sweeney, who has been consistently strong this season, got the first touch in both the 200 freestyle (2:05.89) and the 500 freestyle (5:31.7). Her nearest competitor in the 500 was Bowdoin junior Becca Ahern, who trailed by almost nine seconds before finally touching the wall.
Bigelow is hoping that Sweeney will give Tufts a boost in the longer distance swims such as the 500, 1000, and 1650. Last season Tufts strength fell more in the middle distances. Thus far, Sweeney has done her job, winning both the 500 and 1000 freestyle in the meet against Clark and in the 1000, again, against Wellesley. However, Sweeney knows not to be fooled into relaxing too early in the season.
"I was pleased with my performance," Sweeney said. "My times weren't fast enough, but it was important to win. After the training trip and a few more weeks of work over the course of the season, the times will get faster."
While Sweeney took care of the long distance races, freshmen Katelyn Stevens and Susan Ascoli took care of the sprints. Stevens placed first in the 50 freestyle (27:02), out-touching sophomore teammate Amanda Bloom by 0.3 seconds. This season, Bigelow hopes to see a compliment between Stevens, Ascoli, and Bloom, something that would bolster the sprint portions of the meets.
Ascoli had a first place victory in the 100 freestyle with a time of 57.82. She also came in second place in the 200 freestyle (2:07.09), which was especially pleasing as she had never swam that event in competition.
"Swimming this race was a good experience," Ascoli said. "However, it wasn't my favorite event. I have been training a lot during practice so I felt prepared to swim it. If needed, I'll probably swim it a few more times this season."
Ascoli's race and Bloom racing in the 500 free is an example of the strategy Bigelow uses when it comes to meets that she feels Tufts has a strong chance of winning.
"We have better swimmers than they do, so we went in feeling confident," Bigelow said. "We were lucky in that Bowdoin didn't have the depth that we do. I was able to let people experiment so they could find where they want to focus on down the road."
The divers also scored points for the team. Junior Angela Russo came in first place with a score of 187.27. Junior Lauren Reveley also did well, finishing in third place with a score of 152.40.
The Jumbos now head into the break with a 3-0 record. "It is the first time in a while that I can remember us being 3-0 going into the break," Bigelow said.
The team uses the term "break" loosely, however. Vacation is prime time for the team to get into shape. Fortunately, they will not have to face the fierce cold of Medford as they will travel to Barbados during the last week of the break, to soak up some rays and work on their flip-turns. Still, the exotic setting is not all its cut out to be as the winter training trips are notorious for their grueling workout schedules.
"Even though it is nine days in Barbados, it is still going to be tough," Bigelow said. "The girls work hard by teaching swimming lessons to be able to fund such a trip. It is a great bonding experience. Without the distraction of school, it becomes much easier for the team to come together."
Ascoli is prepared for the hard work the team will have to put forth in Barbados, as well as for the results she expects to see result from it. "This meet was a good meet, but I expect to see even better meets after the training trip," she said.
