Women's swim team prepares for NESCACs at Middlebury

In its final tune-up before the NESCAC Championships, the women's swimming team traveled to Vermont to compete in the Middlebury Invitational. The competition was a who's who of NESCAC competition, as the Jumbo swimmers battled against the best in the conference. It was the team's first taste of perennial powerhouse Williams College, as well as Middlebury.

"There is a hierarchy in our conference, with Williams at the top and Amherst and Middlebury fighting for second," tri-captain Rebecca Ullman said.

Although Amherst did not make the trip, the Jumbos also competed against the team that dealt them their only loss of the season, MIT.

There was no team scoring in the meet, giving a chance for individuals to shine in their respective events, and to see the NESCAC competition first-hand. This Saturday and Sunday the Jumbos will be battling many of the same athletes they took on at the invitational in the NESCAC Championships. However the stakes will be much higher this time around, with NCAA Championship berths on the line.

Last year junior Mika Sumiyoshi qualified for three separate events in the NCAA Championships _ the 200 and 400 yard Intermediate Medleys, and the 200 backstroke. This year she is looking for her third straight trip to the NCAA's in as many years. Sophomore Erica Weitz will be looking to follow up on her freshman success at the NESCAC Championships which also gave her a chance to compete in the 400 and 200 Intermediate Medleys and the 200 breaststroke.

On Saturday Sumiyoshi competed in the 200 freestyle and captured second with a time of 1:58.92, one second behind Williams sophomore Jessica Yankura. Yankura sprinted out to a lead after a lightning quick lap in 26.79 seconds, almost two seconds faster than the entire rest of the field. While Sumiyoshi cut into Yankura's lead in the next two laps, Yankura managed to hold on. Weitz finished seventh in the same race.

Yankura also prevented Sumiyoshi from taking the 100 freestyle, coming in just 0.40 seconds ahead of her. Sumiyoshi clocked a 55.12 to take another second place finish.

Sumiyoshi finally broke through in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:01.75. It was her best time this season in the event, but she has only competed in the event during a couple meets. Like the other events she competed in during the Invitational, the 100 butterfly is not her best event.

"We are shaving, just trying to recover," said Coach Bigelow last week. "The season is exhausting, but you have to keep training. Everyone is trying to hit their peak at the NESCACs."

As a result of the non-scoring events, many athletes were swimming their off events.

Weitz was the other winner from the Jumbo team. She took first in the 200 backstroke. Again this was not one of the events she qualified for during last year's NESCAC Championship.

The two wins may be misleading, however, because other top teams most likely reserved their best swimmers for their best events. The true test for all teams will come next week, when each will throw everything they have in the pool.

A trio of Tufts swimmers took fifth, sixth, and eigth place in the 1000 freestyle. Freshman Kristen Hyland, sophomore Kate Sweeney, and freshman Katie Seyboth took those places in that order. Sweeney also took sixth in the 200 backstroke. Unlike some of the other jumbo swimmers, all three athletes usually compete in the 1000 breaststroke.

Other impressive performances by Jumbo athletes include freshman Meghan Wallach. Wallach appeared everywhere on the result sheet, as she took fourth in the 100 butterfly, seventh in the 50 freestyle, and eighth in the 100 breaststroke. She was also a member of both Tufts relay teams that finished third in both the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay. Sophomore Sarah Ferranti also finished fifth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:06.09 and seventh in the 200 backstroke.