Sports

Swimmers place first in CC contest

In print | November 13, 2008

While the men’s soccer team was locked in a life-or-death struggle for a spot in the Centennial Conference Finals, another team’s conference hopes began in nearby Ware Pool. With fans watching, both the Men’s Swimming Team (1-1, CC 1-0) and Women’s Swimming Team (2-0, CC 1-0) decisively defeated McDaniel’s Green Terror with scores of 101-83 and 112-84, respectively.
The Garnet was the first to make a statement by winning the first two events, the Women’s and Men’s 200-yard Medley Relay. The men took first, second, and third place on their medley relay, a feat repeated four more times by the Garnet in the Men’s 50-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Backstroke, and 200-Yard Freestyle Relay.

The McDaniel team tried to fight back, and strung together first place finishes in four consecutive events, but the Garnet’s lead proved to be insurmountable. It did not take long for the Garnet to record their first conference victories of what looks to be a promising season. “We have a really big, really strong freshman class this year,” Sarah Bedolfe ’11, who sees the first-years as a key to the success of the women’s team this year, said. The women’s team has several new first-years while the men have a whopping ten new additions.

“Our team didn’t lose a large number of seniors,” said Captain Douglas Gilchrist-Scott ’09 (who also mentioned that he missed the departed seniors greatly). Gilchrist-Scott led the team by taking first in the 200-yard Medley Relay, 50-yard Freestyle, and 200-yard Freestyle Relay.
Bedolfe also commented on the competitive spirit of swimming. “Meets are a lot of fun. A big part of it is the competition – somebody has to come out on top.”

The team has been practicing hard this pre-season, which lasted from the end of September to their first meet against Widener this past Wednesday. Gilchrist-Scott noted the incorporation of more ‘dry land’ exercises to their training regimen, and that everybody has been putting in a lot of work. That is, swimmers are expected to go to the weight room and do other (fish)-out-of-water activities to get in shape.

In addition to swimming together for several hours each week, the teams spend a great amount of time together outside of the pool. They often eat together at Sharples, hanging out and wearing matching hoodies. Gilchrist-Scott confirms that “the swim team is a very close team…the guys all like to hang out with each other.” Both teams are hopeful for victory this year, aiming for the conference title. The women finished last year with a 6-5 overall record, the men with a 6-4 overall record, and both finished second in the Centennial Championships. For senior Gilchrist-Scott, the stakes are high as the Garnet men have finished second in the conference for the past three years.

On the other hand, first in the conference for those years has been Franklin & Marshall College, one of the strongest competitors in the Centennial Conference, and appropriately, the Garnet’s next opponent. The meet, this Saturday at 2:00 p.m., could provide a litmus test for the rest of the season. “The meet should be extremely close,” Gilchrist-Scott said. “Their team has a lot of depth and it’s not just going to be about who wins each race.” A lot will rest on Swarthmore’s ability to place even if it don’t finish first in an event.

This meet will be key to the Garnet’s conference hopes, as Franklin & Marshall seems to be the biggest obstacle looming between the swim teams and a conference championship. Throughout this week our swimmers will be practicing hard, and, behind the scenes, coaches will be setting up a lineup that highlights each swimmer’s strengths. There’s a fair amount of optimism in the air. “We have a good chance to win. It’s always a good meet,” Bedolfe said. The historic rivalry, the implications for a conference championship, and the promise of a tight competition are all reasons for coming out to support your Garnet swimmers this coming weekend.