A grueling start to the season left the women's swimming and diving team gasping for air when the Jumbos left campus for Thanksgiving last week. They returned well rested for Wednesday's home meet against Wellesley, and it showed in a 172−117 victory over the Blue.
Tufts kicked off the evening with a stellar performance in the 200−yard medley relay, winning the event with a time of 1:52.84. Freshmen Jen Konick, Jenny Hu and Mia Greenwald joined senior Maureen O'Neill — who will graduate at the end of this semester — in starting the meet off on a high note for the Jumbos.
From there, the Jumbos didn't look back, placing first in 15 of the 19 events, including all but one of the swimming races.
"We had a really, really good meet," senior tri−captain Megan Kono, who won the 1000−yard freestyle by almost 20 seconds, said. "Wellesley has been one of our main competitors the past couple of years, and we beat them in a really smooth meet today, which is a great sign for us.
"We also had a lot of support from our teammates on the deck, which is really important especially in events like the 1000, where you rely on their energy to keep you going," she added.
The Jumbos set a number of personal and school records in the meet. One of those came in the aforementioned relay, during which Konick completed her 50−yard backstroke portion in 28.63 seconds, the best time ever recorded in Hamilton Pool.
Freshman Ellen Gage finished the 50−yard breaststroke — her only event of the evening — in 31.98 seconds, more than 1.5 seconds ahead of her closest competitor, junior teammate Maren Frisell. That time was a lifetime best for Gage, and she believes it's a promising omen for the future.
"The 50−yard breast is specifically a NESCAC meet [event], so I didn't swim it in high school and I don't swim it every time," Gage said. "But this was a long−term record for me and I'm excited because it's a good sign not only for that event, but also for relays."
Tufts enjoyed first− and second−place finishes in eight events, including the 200−yard breaststroke, where the Jumbos swept the top three spots. Sophomore Kathryn Sullivan won the event with a time of 2:34.84, followed by classmate Lauren Quan at 2:37.49 and freshman Emma Van Lieshout at 2:42.35.
The only victory for the Blue came in the 100−yard freestyle, as first−year Mariam Amirkhanashvili touched the wall at 56.15 seconds, six−tenths of a second ahead of Jumbos sophomore Aiai Ren.
First−year Sami Bloom rounded out the night by giving the Jumbos a win in the 1−meter dive with a score of 232.20 points. Bloom's 267.74 points off the 3−meter board was also the highest mark in the meet, but it counted only as an exhibition because the Jumbos had discontinued their scoring by that point.
"It was a really well−rounded performance for us," Kono said. "I can't pick out a single class because lots of people did well. The freshmen stepped up for us once again, and our sophomores, juniors and seniors all did great too."
The team's balance and depth should lead to improved results at this weekend's MIT Invitational — the final meet of the fall semester, and one of Tufts' biggest events of the season. It begins Friday night at 7 p.m., and continues with two sessions on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
The Jumbos are at a disadvantage in the MIT Invitational, because many of the non−NESCAC schools that participate have been practicing since the beginning of the academic year. NESCAC rules prevent Tufts coach Nancy Bigelow from holding official practices until Nov. 1.
"There are one or two meets every season where teams are fully rested, and this is one of those for teams like MIT and Harvard, who use it to make cuts and determine who gets to compete in nationals," Kono said. "For us, it means we have to learn how to swim tired and really have the endurance to keep up with those other schools."
