Lady swimmers undefeated over break

For the women's swimming and diving team's seven seniors, Saturday afternoon marked the end of four storied years. The seniors walked away from Hamilton Pool in style, however, with a convincing 177-120 victory over the Trinity College Bantams in the team's last home meet of the season. With the win, Tufts improved to 6-1 overall heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

"Today was a sad day, but we're all really excited for what's to come. We're going into the end of the season strong and we're going to turn some heads," senior tri-captain Kierstyn Thayer said. "It was a sweet ending to the seniors' four year careers."

The 400 yard medley relay team made up by Thayer, fellow senior tri captain Mika Sumiyoshi and freshmen Dierdre Cannell and Alaina Thiel gave Tufts its first 11 points on the afternoon with a dominating performance, winning by over six seconds.

Sumiyoshi continued her dominance in the NESCAC, winning the 500 meter freestyle for the Jumbos by over 16 seconds and the 200 meter individual medley by over eight seconds.

Cannell, Thiel, and fellow freshman Jessica Bollinger also continued their steady success for the Jumbos. The trio tallied four first place finishes and one second place finish in their individual events.

"It felt good to win, especially at home, because we've been training a lot over the past few weeks," Cannell said. "I didn't expect to do as well as I did, but the crowd really helped set the tone in the meet, and their energy helped me swim faster."

Sophomore Meghan Wallach also contributed to the victory with wins in both the 50 and 100 meter butterfly events.

Senior diver Beth Wecksell continued her success in her final home meet by winning both the one and three meter diving events, both by considerable margins. Throughout the afternoon, the Jumbos were cheered on by close to 75 fans who packed the areas around Hamilton Pool to catch a glimpse of the action.

"Swimming at home is always amazing. We have a very intimate pool even though we always make fun of it," senior tri-captain Amanda Bloom said. "It was special to have so many people there being able to see us do what we work so hard to do. It's nice to see people appreciate the intensity we put into doing well."

The team has won four straight meets since it arrived home from its ten day training trip in Puerto Rico. Included in that undefeated stretch was a victory over Div. I cross-town rival MIT, a team that narrowly defeated Tufts last season.

"It was absolutely awesome to beat MIT," Thayer said. "We had two meets back to back and just coming back from our training trip, our bodies were broken down. It was really nice to beat them and get revenge, because our meets are always close."

Their recent success has given the Jumbos a boost of confidence heading into the season's final two weeks and the all important NESCAC tournament, where Tufts looks to improve on last season's sixth place finish.

Six juniors returned from abroad after the holidays and have been a large part of the team's victories. They have given the team even more depth and experience.

"Having those six girls back makes us realize what a presence they are on this team, whether it's on deck in the locker room," Bloom said. "They really complete the team because at most meets, it's not the first place finishes but the seconds, thirds and fourths that clinch victories."

Tufts' next challenge will come against the Bates Bobcats next Saturday at 1:00 pm, with the Jumbos looking to up their perfect second semester record to 5-0 and build even more confidence heading into NESCACs and Nationals next month.