With an influx of talent on the diving side and a returning core of swimmers, the women's team looks the speed to the head of the NESCAC going into the season, led by a junior-year transfer.
Junior Kendall Swett, last year's Div III national champion in the 3-meter dive transferred to Tufts for a greater academic challenge and to better pursue a major in Art History. The addition of Swett and an influx of freshmen divers has given the team a noticeably different character from last year, with a much stronger emphasis on diving.
For the swimmers, senior co-captain Chloe Young-Hyman returns for her final season. Last year, she finished one spot out of All-American honors, and there is no doubt that the finish will motivate her throughout her senior campaign. Joining her are the core of last year's solid freshmen class, including sophomore Michelle Caswell, who had a breakout rookie season.
Last year, the Jumbos finished fourth overall in NESCAC, swimming their best race of the year at the league championships.
"We are part of an extremely competitive conference; finishing fourth at NESCACs last year was a huge deal," Young-Hyman said. "Williams, Amherst and Middlebury are all extremely fast teams. I would love to see us in close competition with those three teams. I think that we have an extremely talented freshmen class that will contribute greatly to our success this year. I am really excited to see what we can do."
Young-Hyman will be a decisive factor in the water. She finished last season with a trip to Nationals in the 100-meter breaststroke, 100-meter freestyle and 50-meter freestyle. She finished in the top 40 in all three events, posting a 17th-place finish in the breaststroke in a time of 1:07.52. She took 23rd in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 53.84 seconds, just half a second out of All-American range. If Young-Hyman continues her dominance in the sprint freestyle and the breaststroke, she will provide a solid base for the team.
"Chloe has been training very hard and she expects goods things from herself this season," coach Nancy Bigelow said. "She is definitely on the right track to get back to Nationals again this year, and she gained a lot of confidence from being at the meet last march."
Another anchor for the Jumbos will be the only other All-American on the team - Swett. A transfer from Lake Forest College in Chicago, Swett is a crucial pick-up for Tufts. Entering her junior season, she has already captured a national championship and earned four All-American awards - two in both her sophomore and freshman seasons. Last season she won the national championship in the 3-meter dive with a score of 499.0 and finished third in the 1-meter dive with a score of 437.60.
And with nowhere to go but up, Swett has a very clear aim for this season.
"My personal goal is to learn new dives and break my national record," she said.
Another major factor in a successful season will be the progression of the freshmen. There is a large group of divers, including last year's Massachusetts Div. II state diving champion Lindsay Gardel.
Classmates Kelsey Bell, Kara Linquist, Jamie Ryan and Barbara Shepard are all divers who could have a real impact this year.
Other important freshmen additions looking to contribute immediately are Meredith Cronin, a mid- and distance-freestyler, Lyndsey York, another mid-distance freestyler and Emily Japlon, a sprinter.
As the year goes on, the performance of this freshmen class will dictate the Jumbos' postseason potential.
"The freshmen class is loaded with divers and some very good freestylers, from sprint to the mile," Bigelow said. "Just about all of our freshman will contribute right away."
These freshman swimmers join the veterans from last year, all of whom are ready to improve. Caswell, who set the school-record in the 50-meter backstroke at NESCACs last season, is ready to build upon a strong first season.
Caswell also played a prominent role for the Jumbos in relays last season, ultimately participating on three different relay teams at NESCACs last year.
Junior Alison Palomaki finally broke through late last season swimming her way to an eighth place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:08.09.
Senior co-captains Jess Bolinger and Shanti Sattler, both freestylers, are also poised to improve last year's times.
Ultimately, swimming and diving is, like track and cross country, a peak sport. The Jumbos will be looking to put forward their best efforts and be in the best shape possible late in the season, with their eyes on the NESCAC Championships - the first meet of the championship season.
While this team has all the pieces to swim well at NESCACs, the long season ahead and the competition around the league make predictions impossible.
But regardless of what ends up happening at NESCACs, any team privileged enough to have a national champion joining an almost-All-American should have someone to cheer for come Nationals time.
