Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
In their first swim meet since their team training trip to Puerto Rico over winter break, the Swarthmore Garnet (3-2, 1-2) easily defeated the Cabrini Cavaliers (1-9) by a score of 81-55 on Saturday afternoon at Ware Pool.
Competing against a Cabrini team with a lean roster, the Garnet men were able to stretch their legs and get prepared for their upcoming Centennial Conference meets. Junior Josh Satre was dominant in both the 1000 freestyle, finishing with a time of 10:38.91 for a season-best swim, and the 500 freestyle, in which he cruised to victory with a time of 5:10.04.
Several seniors had strong performances as well. Tim Brevart swam a quick 50.39 in the 100 freestyle and Dante Fuoco posted a season-best time of 2:11.39 in the 200 backstroke.
The team was also bolstered by the return of several of its middle distance swimmers from abroad.
Coach Sue Davis remarked that “some good depth returned to the team this semester,” and that “they are an integral part of our success.”
One of the returning members to the team, junior Daniel Duncan, won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.63 and looks like he will soon return to top form.
A large reason for the success of the men was their training trip to Puerto Rico over winter break.
“I feel like the team was really unified this year over it, and it was a great opportunity for all of the swimmers abroad this fall to get back in the swing of things,” Satre remarked.
Davis agreed. “The training trip always pays off at the end of the season since we do three weeks of work in nine days.”
The team also has to make up for the loss of its primary backstroker, Sam Bullard-Sisken, due to an early graduation, but Davis feels comfortable that the team will “be able to rise to the occasion.”
Davis remarked that team “definitely has their work cut out for them,” with the upcoming Centennial Conference schedule..
If the Garnet continues to perform, it will be an exciting Conference meet come the third week of February.
Senior Tim Brevart believes that “our team is going to have one of the best Conference meets this year that we’ve had in a long time. Our season is extremely long, however no one has shown any signs of mental fatigue since we started training in September. Everyone is a leader, everyone performs under pressure; it’s almost like we have a team full of captains and each one is ready to lead the charge.”
The Garnet’s next challenge will be their upcoming meet against Conference opponent Washington College on Wednesday in Chestertown, MD.
