The women's swimming and diving team was the Cinderella story of the 2004 NESCAC Championship. The team surprised almost everybody when they took fourth place behind swimming powerhouses Williams, Middlebury and Amherst. Despite the losses of many key swimmers due to various reasons this winter, the Jumbos will look to emulate their performance from last season and come away with a top-five finish at this year's NESCAC Championships. The three-day event, which begins Friday, will be hosted by Middlebury.
The conference features many nationally ranked swimmers and teams, including annual favorite Williams, which has won the NESCAC title four years in a row.
"Realistically, Williams will probably have no problem winning," coach Nancy Bigelow said. "It looks like Middlebury and Amherst will compete for second, and Colby also has a strong team this year. We should place anywhere from fifth to eighth. We are going up against some outstanding competition."
The Jumbos should be fresh for the meet. Their last meet was Feb. 5 at the MIT Invitational. The meet made for a stress-free race for those who were competing at the Championships.
"We've worked really hard this season and on our training trip and now we are thoroughly rested," senior quad-captain Erica Weitz said. "I think everybody is psyched up and ready to swim fast."
Bigelow agreed. "Everything they have done this season is geared up toward this last race," she said. "They have worked so hard. I want them to be pleased with their efforts and to really have fun as well."
Individually, the swimmers will be going up against some of the top Div. III swimmers in the country. Connecticut College senior Kate Kovenock is an eight-time All American and will enter the NESCACs ranked first in the 50, 100, and 200 yard freestyle, as well as the 50 butterfly. Nationally, she is ranked in the top 10 in all three freestyle events.
Bowdoin sophomore Katie Chapman, against whom Tufts raced earlier this year in a win over the Polar Bears, is also a top contender. While she will challenge Kovenock in the 200 free, she enters the race holding the best time in the 500 free. Two Middlebury freshmen, Marika Ross and Sara Cowie, should turn some heads as well. Cowie is ranked 11th in the country in the 1,650 freestyle and is the top seed in the distance freestyle events. Ross, also nationally ranked, holds the top time in the 100 and 200 butterfly and the 400 individual medley, and is ranked second in the 200 IM and the 50 fly.
The most impressive swimmer in the race could be Williams senior Lindsay Payne, a two time national champion. Payne returned in the 2004-2005 season after taking a year off with a reputation to defend, having won the 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke at the 2003 Championships and setting meet records in all three events. She is currently the NCAA Division III record holder in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke.
For the Jumbos, there will be several swimmers looking to make a splash at the meet. While it is a long shot that any will win an individual championship, a top eight finish would be both impressive and within reach. Bigelow mentioned Weitz, sophomore Jessica Bollinger, freshman Allison Palomaki, freshman Bianca Spinosa, and sophomore Chloe Young-Hyman in her list of possible top eight finishers.
"We have a bunch of swimmers who are going to get us points by placing in events," Bigelow said. "It's important we get contributions from everyone."
Weitz hopes to perform well in her last collegiate race.
"I want to swim my fastest times of the season and try and place in the top eight at finals," she said. "I've been doing this for 15 years, so it is going to be bittersweet. It will be exciting to race my last race, but it will also be a little bit sad."
