One of Amherst's most successful winter teams began their season. And, if their first meets were any indication of what lies ahead, this season should be a magical one for the women's swimming and diving team.
In their first meet of the season, the women headed to Schenectady, N.Y. to face Union College on Nov. 17. They left Union with a dominating 138.5 to 103.5 win.
"We weren't really surprised by the outcome, but there were a few surprisingly good swims-Ashley Simonsen's 200-yard butterfly at Union and Rebecca Stein's 100-yard breastroke against Wesleyan are two examples," said co-captain Sarah Malmfeldt '02.
The Jeffs started off the meet hot with an impressive win in the 400- yard medley relay.
The team of Courtney Davies '05, Allison Martin '02, co-captain Alison Brown '02 and Ashley Simonsen '04 finished first in the race with a time of 4:17.56, starting the Jeffs off the right way with 11 points.
Morgan Bayer '03, the defending national champion in the 200- yard butterfly, displayed her prowess in other disciplines with wins in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle.
Her time of 2:01.99 in the 200 free gave her the second Jeff win of the day. She followed that up with a four second win in the 400 free with her time of 5:20.27.
Bayer's absence from the 200 fly allowed Simonsen to finish first in the event with a dominant winning time of 2:14.16. Brown also excelled in the event, finishing second in the same race with a time of 2:18.80, capping a 1-2 finish for the Lord Jeffs.
The Jeffs ended the day with a win in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Simonsen, Jaime Fisher '04, Bayer and Martin scored the important win with their time of 1:46.42.
Though the Jeffs no doubt miss the departed Hillary Jones '01, Malmfeldt seems ready to pick up most of the slack. Malmfeldt won her 50-yard freestyle event with her time of 26.55.
Only two days later the Jeffs headed to Little III rival Wesleyan University to take on the Cardinals.
The Jeffs were completely dominant in defeating their counterparts 133-75. "We knew Union and Wesleyan wouldn't be tough meets for us. Particularly since Wesleyan only has seven female swimmers and a few divers," said Malmfeldt.
Amherst sent a message early finishing 1-2-3 in the first event, the 200-yard medley relay.
The "B" team finished first this time. The team of Hillary Stockbridge '05, Bea Wallace '04, Davies and Rebecca Stein '05 scored 11 points for Amherst with their excellent time of 1:55.26. The freshmen would continue to impress the rest of the day.
Amherst's "A" team of Brown, Martin, Simonsen and Malmfedt finished second in the race. Their time of 1:58.87, allowed the Jeffs to add a total of 15 points to the scoreboard.
Freshman phenoms Katie Massopust and Stein won the 1000-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle, respectively.
In the 1000 free, the top three finishers were from Amherst. Rachel Bethlahmy '04 and Sarah Dobbs '04 finished second and third respectively. Their times were 11:25.26 and 11:31.05. The Jeffs scored 16 points in the process.
In the 200-yard free two other freshmen placed second and third. Michelle McCreary '05 with her time of 2:04.53, finished second. Alexis Johnston '05 closed right behind finishing in 2:05.15.
The emergence of the freshmen bodes well for the Jeffs as they continue the season. It was truly a day where the rookies ruled.
Jill Wyrick '05, who won the 200-yard IM and 100-yard freestyle, looks to be a sensation to watch this season. Stockbridge was also impressive, winning the 100-yard backstroke.
"We're very excited to have such a talented group of freshmen, and we look forward to facing tough rivals such as Middlebury and Williams," said Malmfeldt. "This looks to be a very good year for us."
The veterans were also impressive against Wesleyan. Malmfeldt won the 50-yard freestyle and Alison Brown dominated in the 100-yard butterfly.
Two freshman are also making their mark in diving.
Kathryn Shaw '05 and Kristen Boyd '05 finished first and second in the one meter diving event, filling the shoes of the departed Amanda Muir '01.
The Jeffs did not give up any points until the last four events. The Jeffs also headed to nearby Northampton, Mass. to Smith College on Tuesday night.
Their first real test of the new season will come on Saturday when they take on the Panthers of Middlebury. "Midd will be a close meet for us. We both have strong teams this year, and we're excited to have some good competition, especially after easy wins with Union and Wes," said Malmfeldt.