Sports

Swim team tramples rivals on the road to conferences

In print | February 14, 2008

The men’s swim team (5-5, 4-1 CC) carried the confidence they earned from their hard-fought victory over Gettysburg last weekend into their meet at Dickinson (6-3, 4-2 CC) this past Saturday, claiming their third straight victory, 118-87, and securing a second place regular season conference finish.

The women’s team (6-4, 4-2 CC) faced an uphill battle at Saturday’s meet, with several key swimmers sitting out the event due to illness. After a tough fight, the Garnet women succumbed to Dickenson (6-4, 4-2 CC) 112-93. “Competing with only 14 swimmers is tough, even when all of them are healthy. When one is throwing up and the others are battling colds it is extremely difficult,” Anne Miller ’10 said.

Extenuating circumstances aside, the Women’s team began the meet with an important victory in the 400-yard medley relay by Allie Jordan ‘09, Stephanie Su ’11, Jennie Lewis ’08 and Chelsea Brett ’11. "Starting meets with a win in the 400 medley relay is always a huge adrenaline rush. Relays are a lot of fun and a lot of pressure. It’s a perfect combination for success," Jordan said.

Miller quickly racked up three wins in the 1000-yard freestyle, the 200-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle. For the second week in a row, the Garnet swept the first three places in the 200-yard butterfly.

The team was impaired by a number of adverse circumstances going into Saturday’s meet, but Miller said that all successful athletes learn to compete in the face of substantial challenges. “Dealing with those circumstances is part of being involved in sports, but we will deal with it, move on and hopefully destroy Dickinson at Conferences,” Miller said. Ever resilient, the women’s team is already looking forward.

“Right now, the focus is on getting healthy and rested, and when that happens we’ll be ready to go again,” Jordan said.

The men’s team found the majority of its points in 1-2 finishes in the 1000-yard freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle, and the 200-yard individual medley, as well as a 1-2-3 sweep in the 500-yard freestyle.

Crucial contributions came from Stephen Shymon ’09 (1000, 500-yard freestyle) and Sterling Satterfield ’11, (200-yard individual medley, 200-yard butterfly). “After the 1000 free I was pretty tired, but there was no way in hell I was going to let [Andrew] Frampton win the 500 free after what he said in the Phoenix last week,” Shymon said.

Despite his competitive spirit, Satterfield said that swimming is by nature an individual sport. “Swimmers are always told, ‘It is just you in the water,’” Satterfield said. “However, with Swarthmore, it doesn’t feel that way. The team’s support and camaraderie are undeniable. We are way more than just a team — we are a family,” he said.

Both men’s and women’s swimming wrapped up their regular seasons with a final meet in Chestertown, Maryland against Washington College on Wednesday, although results were not available at the time of publication. Prior to the Washington, the men’s team was optimistic about the likelihood of rounding out the season with another win.

Members of the women’s team said they were anticipating a tough, but winnable meet. “I think that besides being able to do it, we want to do it, which can make all the difference,” Jordan said.

With conferences less than two weeks away, the men’s team was feeling confident. “We are coming off of big wins and have a higher level of confidence, energy and intensity than in the beginning of the season,” Satterfield said.

“Everyone has been training exceptionally well since training trip and I think we are all anxious to swim at conferences,” Shymon said.

The women’s team expects that talent and camaraderie will serve them well at the Centennial Conference Championships. “We’re going to be there for one another through all three days no matter what happens and I think because of that, we can be sure that big things are going to happen,” Jordan said.