The women's swimming and diving team had one final chance to prepare for NESCACs this weekend, racing in a non-scoring meet at the MIT Zeigler Center on Friday and Saturday.
The meet featured many of the top teams throughout the region; however, the level of competitiveness was diminished, as the swimmers used the meet to prepare themselves for the coming weeks.
"Most of the non-tapering swimmers swam off events or events that they really didn't get a chance to swim during the dual meet part of the season," coach Nancy Bigelow said. "The other NESCAC teams treat this meet the same way, so it doesn't really give any kind of indication for how their team is going to perform at NESCACs."
Only half the team will compete at the NESCAC championships on Feb. 16-18, so the MIT invitational served as the non-NESCAC swimmers' final championship meet. These swimmers tapered for this competition, and prepared to drop their best times of the season.
"[This meet] was different because half of our team was tapered and for the other half it was their last meet of the year," senior tri-captain Jess Bollinger said. "[For the NESCAC swimmers] it more of a fun meet to have a sort of break before NESCACs."
Once again, the diving team led the charge for the Jumbos. Junior Kendall Swett battled her regional rival, MIT junior Doria Holbrooke for the second time this year. The two split the diving events with Swett taking victory in the 1-meter dive with a score of 282.85, while Holbrooke won the 3-meter dive with a score of 317.10. The pair will not face each other again until Nationals.
The triad of Tufts freshmen also continued its domination. In the 1-meter dive, Kara Lindquist finished third, Lindsay Gardel finished sixth and Kelsey Bell came in eighth. In the 3-meter dive Gardel finished fourth, Lindquist fifth and Bell ninth. The trio will certainly give its team depth on the diving side when NESCACs roll around.
On the swimming side, Bollinger continued her excellent season, finishing third in the grueling 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 18:22.86. Bollinger then showcased her versatility, finishing third in the 200-yard butterfly and second in the 400-yard IM. Bollinger's varied selection of events, two of which were new events for her, reflected a competition-wide trend for coaches to place their top athletes in new races during this preparatory meet.
Senior tri-captain Chloe Young-Hyman also raced in unfamiliar events. She finished eighth in the 500-yard freestyle, swimming a 5:28.04, while also competing in the 200-yard time trial, coasting to a 2:30.72. Young-Hyman rarely swims more than 100 yard races, so the longer races were an unusual test of endurance. She also returned to her comfort zone, and competed in one of her signature events, the 50-yard freestyle, garnering a third-place finish with a time of 25.06.
For the non-NESCAC swimmers, the MIT invitational provided the final opportunity to capture their preseason goals. Sophomore Perry Ross swam two personal bests in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke with times of 1:15.95 and 2:44.42, respectively. Sophomore Cynthia Wisnieff swam a personal best in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:06.36, and came close to doing the same with her 2:24.36 200-yard backstroke. Junior Sara Sawyer also swam a lifetime best with a 29.22 in the 50-yard freestyle.
"This meet is a great experience for all the kids that shaved for this meet," Bigelow said. "It's a lot more similar to a championship meet format and I think all of our shaved swimmers did a great job."
Although the season is over for half of the team, the other half is focused on the most important meet of the season: the NESCAC championships. The team will now begin its taper to put its swimmers in the best possible shape to notch their season and personal bests.
"I think the whole team is really excited and really ready to do great at NESCACs," Bollinger said.
