Jumbos to launch season versus Conn. College

The women's swimming and diving team kicks off its NESCAC season this weekend with high hopes as it travels to UMass Dartmouth to face the Corsairs and NESCAC rival Connecticut College. The Jumbos finished three spots ahead of the Camels last time the two teams squared off, last season at the NESCAC championship, but coach Nancy Bigelow still knows that the Camels could be a threat.

"It's going to be a challenging first meet," Bigelow said. "Every year Conn. College comes back having improved from the year before. UMass also has many fine swimmers, and we're really going to have to focus if we want to win. It's not just going to happen."

The team will, as usual, look for leadership in senior tri-captain Mika Sumiyoshi, who hopes to lead the squad to its first win of the year.

"I expect great things from Mika this year," Bigelow said. "She's determined to swim faster than she did last year, and is a great competitor poised to go out with a bang."

The Jumbos also will look to their myriad of returning swimmers for support and depth in not only the individual stroke races, but also the relays. Despite six juniors, who are studying abroad for the fall semester, Tufts looks to win early and start the season off on a good note. One of those juniors is Erika Wietz, who provisionally qualified for nationals last spring as one of Tufts' top freestyle and medley racers. Despite this, Bigelow has confidence in all her returners.

"All of our returning girls have confidence in themsleves and in the team, and they are going to come out and have great seasons this year," Bigelow said.

The sophomore class was particularly strong last season, and looks to help the team to another solid year. Led by Meghan Wallach, who swims the individual medley and butterfly and missed provisionally qualifying for nationals by less than a tenth of a second last season, Katie Mims at freestyle and butterfly sprinting, and Kristen Hyland at freestyle distance, the group of eleven sophomores look to lead the team through the NESCAC's.

Bigelow was particularly impressed with her strong freshman class, led by Jessica Bollinger, Dierdre Cannell, Alaina Thiel and Eva Johnson.

"The freshmen are going to help us tremendously," Bigelow said. "They add depth to the team, which is crucial for our dual meets. On every team you need people that can win meets and others that can get in the top five."

Despite the team's talent and depth, Bigelow is anxious for the start of the season, especially with six important pieces of her roster abroad.

"I see this year starting out slowly," Bigelow said. "But I feel that we'll be peaking at the end, which is the right time to peak."

Also of note is the other half of the team, the divers, who are often overlooked but play a key role in the team's success at every meet. Senior Beth Wecksell, who has consistently been Tufts' top diver, and sophomore Jessica Schwartz, who produced a very steady, consistent freshman season, look to lead the small group of divers in the conference.

"This year is going to be lots of fun and very exciting," Bigelow said. "We have really great kids on this team, and I'm looking forward to a fun, exciting, happy season."

After this weekend's meet the Jumbos will swim at Wellesley and Bowdoin to close out the fall semester. They begin the spring season on Jan. 17 at home against Wesleyan.