Sports

Swimming bids adieu to seniors, drowns Dickinson

Swimming-bids-adieu-to-seniors-drowns-dickinson

Austin Dike | Phoenix Staff

Distance swimmers Stephen Shymon (center) and Derrick Kao (far right) at the start of the 1000-yard freestyle. Shymon’s season-best time of 10:15.37 leads the Centennial Conference.

BY MADDIE WILLIAMS

In print | February 12, 2009

When asked to name some standout swimmers at the Dickinson meet, Garnet head coach Sue Davis simply replied, “Everyone.”

The Swarthmore men’s and women’s swim teams certainly had a strong showing at this Saturday’s home meet against Dickinson College. The men’s team finished out the day with a score of 119-86. On the women’s side, the team secured a Garnet victory with a final score of 111-94. “Both the men’s and women’s teams, across the board, swam their hearts out,” Coach Davis said. Neil Palmer ’12 echoed this sentiment, saying “we all swam well. You can pick out individuals who did the best, but everyone had really good performances overall.”

The meet commenced with a small ceremony honoring the team’s seniors and their numerous accomplishments. The team bid goodbyes to Jessica Pritchett ’09 and Laura Rainey ’09 from the women’s team, and to Doug Gilchrist-Scott ’09, Thomas Kelleher ’09, Blaise Sheridan ’09, Guy Seaton ’09 and Stephan Shymon ’09 from the men’s squad.

“The seniors as a whole will be sorely missed,” Davis said. Specifically, she continued, “Doug Gilchrist-Scott is one of the best swimmers we’ve had at Swarthmore.” She also cited Shymon as “one of the best distance swimmers in the history of Swarthmore.” Indeed, the talented pair account for five of six school records in the freestyle. Shymon has recorded the Swarthmore top times in the 500-, 1000- and 1650-yard freestyles, while Gilchrist-Scott has Swarthmore bests in the 50- and 100-yard sprints to his credit.

“The senior guys as amazing,” Sterling Satterfield ’11 said, adding that they will definitely be missed. However, many talented underclassmen will return to the roster next year, as evident in the success and almost across-the-board setting of season or lifetime best times in the Dickinson-Swarthmore meet.

Swarthmore kicked off the meet with strong performances in both the men’s and women’s 400-yard medley relays. The relay team of Jessica Pritchett ’09, Stephanie Su ’11, Casey Osborn ’10 and Chelsea Brett ’11 came in first place with a time of 4:16.76. The men’s quartet of Santiago Lombo ’11, Satterfield, Sam Bullard-Sisken ’12 and Gilchrist-Scott matched their teammates with a victorious time of 3:41.02 in this event.

Anne Miller ’10 continued her stellar streak of individual victories, claiming three first-place finishes. In the women’s 1000-yard freestyle, she beat out the closest Dickinson contender by almost five seconds to finish with a time of 11:04.53, a season-best time. Shattering season-best times seemed to be the order of the day, as teammate Allison Bishop ’11 also recorded a season-best time in this event, finishing in third place with a time of 11:16.10. In fifth place, Sarah Bedolfe ’11 also finished with a season-best time of 11:30.96.

In the 200-yard butterfly, Miller eked out the win with a time of 2:16.11. Finishing just barely behind her were teammates Casey Osborn ’10 and Naomi Glassman ’12, clocking in respectively at 2:16.42 and 2:17.41. Both Miller and Osborn posted season-best times in this event.

Miller completed her trio of triumphs in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing first at 5:26.78. Right behind her was Bishop in a time of 5:29.12. Bedolfe came in fourth at 5:38.66. Once again, all three swimmers achieved season-best times in this event.

In the women’s 200-yard IM, Swarthmore fixed a solid victory, sweeping the top three spots. Osborn claimed the win at 2:20.56. Su finished next with a time of 2:21.22, followed by Rosalie Lawrence ’12 at 2:23.96. Su and Lawrence continued their success in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing first and second. Su’s time was 2:33.71, and Lawrence’s time was 2:39.82.

Swarthmore also proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the men’s individual events. In the 1000-yard freestyle, Shymon took a commanding lead and finished first with a time of 10:21.24. Fellow Garnet distance swimmer Derrick Kao ’11 took second, finishing at 10:38.76. Both swimmers beat their previous season-best times. In the 500-yard freestyle, Shymon and Kao emerged yet again as dominant powers. Shymon won the event in a time of 4:59.42, and Kao was second in 5:09.60.

The Swarthmore men in the 200-yard IM matched the success of their female teammates. Lance Liu ’12 won the event with a time of 2:03.52. Satterfield finished right behind him at 2:03.62, followed by Kyle Skolfield ’10 in third at 2:10.01.

In the men’s 200-yard backstroke, Lombo barely beat Gilchrist-Scott at the finish. Lombo finished at 2:03.43 and Gilchrist-Scott at 2:03.47, mere hundredths behind.

On the horizon, the Swarthmore men’s and women’s swim teams look to the Centennial Conference championship meet. “If the swimmers continue to perform as well as they have been, they’ll be fine,” Coach Davis said about postseason competition. “I hope to see as many lifetime best times as possible and hopefully get a couple of kids to nationals.”

Disclosure note: Phoenix Sports Editor Danny Friel is a member of the men’s swimming team but had no role in the production of this article.