For half of the women's swimming and diving team, the Wheaton Invitational was their championship. They had been preparing for this meet throughout the season, and they spent the past week easing off practice schedules and doing everything possible to ensure that they'd post their best times of the year.
The results could not have been more encouraging.
"A lot of girls hit some of their personal−best or season−best times this weekend," sophomore K.J. Kroetch said. "It was a really successful meet for us, and it was really cool to see how well the girls who tapered did."
Senior tri−captain Jen Iassogna, who is also a layout editor for the Daily, enjoyed a phenomenal performance in one of her final swims for Tufts, finishing the 1,000−yard freestyle in 11:26.78, good for second place behind Wheaton sophomore Caroline Isaacs. That time was more than 30 seconds faster than Iassogna's previous best in the event.
"Probably the best part of this weekend was the way the seniors, especially the girls who were swimming for the last time, went out with a bang," Kroetch said. "Jen Iassogna's performance, in particular, was really inspiring to a lot of the girls on the team."
Fellow seniors Erica Zahka and Meghan Lueders also showed marked improvements, and classmate Elley Cannon pared 15 seconds off her previous season−low in the 500−yard freestyle swim, touching the wall at 5:54.98.
The gutsiest effort of the day was delivered by first−year Laura Burns, who overcame a tough illness to anchor Tufts' B−team in the 400−yard medley relay. The quad — which also featured freshman Mia Greenwald and sophomores Erin Fleurant and Christine Garvey — placed third with a time of 4:20.68.
"A lot of people had really great swims, and the seniors especially swam really well," first−year Ellen Gage, who finished second in the 100−yard breaststroke, said. "The girls were definitely super prepared, and even a lot of those who weren't tapered for this weekend had great times."
Senior tri−captain Megan Kono, who was named NESCAC performer of the week for her dominant showing against Wheaton in Hamilton Pool on Jan. 29, continued a recent string of victories building up to the NESCAC Championships. Although Kono's strength is usually in the long−distance freestyle events, she won a pair of entirely different races — the 200− and 400−yard individual medleys — on Saturday. Kono finished more than four seconds ahead of her nearest rival in the 200−yard race, and nearly 10 seconds before the runner−up in the 400.
The Jumbos also earned wins in the 400−yard freestyle relay, and a variety of 200−yard events. First−year Priyanka Bhargava won the backstroke in 2:17.23, junior Valerie Eacret took the freestyle in 2:00.89 and Garvey placed first in the butterfly in 2:13.51.
The season is now over for half of the team, and the other half will spend the next two weeks focusing on the NESCAC Championships, which take place Feb. 18−20 at Williams College. The Jumbos, fueled by their recent success, are confident that they will fare well against the best competition in their conference.
"The NESCACs are two weekends from now, and everyone who wasn't tapered for this weekend is going to be doing that now to get ready," Gage said. "I think we have a chance to do really well."
"Judging by this weekend's performance, the general attitude for the team is very positive," Kroetch said. "If we can keep that going, the NESCACs should be really exciting."
The swimmers and divers who excel at NESCACs could earn a trip to the NCAA Championships, which are scheduled for March 23−26 at the University of Tennessee.
