Women's swimming & diving
at Hamilton, Wednesday
Tufts 166
Wellesley 125
The women's swimming and diving team got its first win of the season Wednesday with a 166-125 triumph over the Wellesley Blue. The Jumbos claimed the first place finisher in 11 of the 14 swimming events.
The victory included Tufts starting out in a 32 point hole because it did not have any divers competing. The three freshmen beginner divers do not have six dives in their repertoire yet, and thus are not ready for competition. Junior Jess Schwartz, the team's one experienced diver, is abroad for the semester.
"It was great to get our first win," coach Nancy Bigelow said. "We really stepped up to the challenge. We had some girls sick, but others came in and swam very well in their place."
Individually, the Jumbos got key performances from a couple of
upperclassmen: senior quad-captain Erica Weitz and junior Katie Mims both had very strong meets. Weitz won both the 200-yard butterfly (2:16.41) and the 200-yard backstroke (2:17.70).
"Erica swam a very strong 200 fly," Bigelow said. "I think she surprised even herself."
Mims, meanwhile, won the 50-yard freestyle (25.69) and the 100 free (56.22). She also swam the final leg of the 200 medley relay, which the foursome won by nearly five seconds with a time of 1:54.38 in a 1-2 Tufts finish.
A victory over rival Wellesley is always satisfying for the swimmers. In fact, Bigelow's first coaching job came at Wellesley, where she led the Blue from 1975 to 1980.
"It is, of course, always nice to beat them," she said. "They had some swimmers out, including their second best swimmer, so they were lacking, but that's not to take anything away from our performance. We came out firing on all cylinders."
Mims agreed.
"Since Wellesley is one of our long time rivals, it was great to beat them," she said. "We needed contributions from everybody and got them."
Tufts also received strong performances from its freshmen, who have been some of the squad's strongest swimmers this winter.
First year Tia Bassano won both the 200 and 500-yard freestyles, with times of 2:00.53 and 5:25.62, respectively. Classmate Allison Palomaki also won two events, the 100 and 200-yard breaststrokes, in 1:09.13 and 2:28.87.
Freshmen Bianca Spinosa and Monika Burns also made significant contributions. Spinosa won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:00.50 and placed second in the 200-yard (2:18.71). Burns won the 100 back (1:05.56) and placed third in the 200 back (2:23.83).
"Our freshmen have been a great boost to the team," Mims said. "Allison is a very strong breaststroker and is a huge addition. Tia always goes out really fast, but has been able to bring it home strong too. Bianca also swam an awesome 100 fly."
Bigelow believes that the freshmen will be one of the biggest keys to the Jumbos success this season.
"They've filled a lot of gaps so far and I know they will have great seasons," she said. "I think it is fun for them to feel like significant contributors."
Considering the Jumbos started down 32 points, the swimming performances were near-domination.
"Despite the deficit, we still caught up and crushed them," Mims said. "It shows how strong we are going to be this season."
"Basically, Wellesley didn't rise to the occasion and we did," Bigelow added.
Up next, the Jumbos will host Bowdoin tomorrow at Hamilton Pool. The Polar Bears feature Kate Chapman, who is top-ranked in the NESCAC in several events.
"They have some very strong swimmers, including a couple freestylers that will be some tough competition for us," said Mims. "But their strong swimmers are limited to only a few events, so it will be a close meet."
The deciding factor could be Tufts' depth. With the large number of contributors, especially freshmen, the Jumbos will look to make it a close meet and hopefully pull away with their second consecutive victory.
