If it's any consolation, the women's swimming and diving team started out this year exactly the same way it started its record-breaking 2003 season.
For the second year in a row, the Jumbos were upset in their first meet of the year by the Connecticut College Camels, 177-117.
"I think everyone swam really well overall," senior quad-captain Erica Weitz said. "The freshman really stepped up, and our returning upper-classmen swam as hard as they could. We really wanted the win, but we just couldn't pull it out."
The loss puts the Jumbos at 0-1 on the season, the same record they started with at the beginning of last year before rattling off seven consecutive conference victories in preparation for the NESCAC meet at the end of the season.
"We're only going to go up for the rest of the season," Weitz said. "Last year, we lost to Conn College and then won seven straight, and I don't see why we can't repeat that this year."
Tufts went into the meet down 32 points before any of its swimmers even hit the pool because the squad's one experienced diver, junior Jess Schwartz, is abroad this semester and coach Nancy Bigelow's freshmen were not ready to compete.
"It was frustrating because we didn't have any divers and we lost a lot of points because of that," sophomore Dierdre Cannell said. "Connecticut College is a really strong team, and although we lost, we tried our hardest and there really wasn't anything that we could do differently in retrospect."
Despite the lack of divers, the Jumbos swimmers still put forth a valiant effort to try and make up the difference. They were led at the meet by Weitz and freshman standout Allison Palomaki.
Weitz placed second in the 200-yard butterfly (2:16.41), narrowly missing out first place in the event by under half a second to the eventual winner, sophomore Ali Wilson of the Camels. In addition, the quad captain took second place in the 200 back (2:17.70) and first place in the 400 Individual Medley (4:49.74).
Palomaki, swimming in her first collegiate meet, showed little nervousness, taking second place in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.51), missing out on first place by .75 seconds to Connecticut College freshman Katelyn Brochu. Palomaki had the last laugh, however, as she touched home first in the 200 breast (2:28.84), dominating Brochu by over five seconds.
Tufts also received solid contributions from three of its other standout first years: Tia Bassano, Monika Burns, and Bianca Spinosa. Bassano gave Connecticut College senior captain, NESCAC Champion and Nationals attendee Kate Kovenock a run for her money in 200-yard freestyle, taking second place in the event for Tufts in 2:00.54 seconds. She gave Tufts some much needed depth in the short sprints, placing fifth in the 100 free (57.19) and fourth in the 100 fly (1:05.19).
Bassano also swam the first leg of the 400 free relay team that took first place, giving Tufts an early lead with a strong split time of 57.45 seconds.
Burns established herself as a threat in the backstroke events with a third place finish in the 100 (1:07.62), and a fourth place finish in the 200 (2:24.53).
Spinosa made a name for herself in the butterfly, taking third place behind Weitz and Camel sophomore Ali Wilson in the 200 (2:20.29) and second place, just 1.5 seconds off the lead, behind Kovenock in the 100 fly (1:00.50). The Virginia native joined Bassano in the 400 freestyle relay team, swimming the second leg of the race in 58.21 seconds.
"The freshmen really stepped up on Saturday, and it was really exciting to see them swim so fast during this time of year when we've been training really hard in practice," Cannell said. "As the season continues they'll continue to contribute a lot, especially to the relays where they'll be a really strong force."
"The freshmen are going to be a huge part of our success this season," Weitz added.
Tufts also got strong contributions from sophomore Jess Bollinger, junior Katie Mims and senior quad-captain Suzi Ascoli.
Bollinger, Tufts' strongest distance swimmer, gave Tufts a one-two finish in the 400 IM, finishing behind Weitz in 5:00.34. She added a third place finish in the 500 Free (5:28.47) and a second place finish in the 1000 Free (11:12.78) to complete a successful day in the water.
Mims and Ascoli finished second and fourth, respectively, in the 50 free, but were only separated by half a second. The duo also went 2-4 in the 100 free, with Mims racing to second place behind Kovenock. Finally, the duo swam the final two legs of the victorious 400 free relay, with Mims clocking in the second fastest split time (55.93) of all of the competitors, finishing only to Kovenock (51.09).
Ascoli added her fourth place finish in the 50 free with a fourth place finish in the 200 free (2:04.25), missing out on third place by a fingernail to Connecticut College sophomore Liz Lingo (2:04.22).
The Jumbos are next slated to face off against the Wellesley Blue a week from tomorrow in Hamilton Pool. The meet marks the first of three consecutive home meets for Tufts, who will follow up the tilt with the Blue with home meets against Bowdoin and Brandeis on consecutive Saturdays to round out the semester.<$>
