Amherst traveled to Union for the season opener on Nov. 22. The Jeffs dominated from the 200-yard medley relay start to the 200-yard freestyle relay finish, winning by a huge margin of 170-66. Rebecca Stein '05 swam incredible 100- and 200-yard freestyle events, already making the B cut for Nationals in the 100 with a time of 53.79.
First-year Piper Petterson swam the 100-yard backstroke in 1:03.47. Other wins came from Alexis Johnston '05 in the 1000-yard freestyle, Liz Chiang '05 in the 50 freestyle, Kate Shaw '05 in 1- and 3-meter diving and Hilary Stockbridge '05 in the 100-yard breaststroke.
The women next defeated Little Three rival Wesleyan on Nov. 24, placing first in all events except the medley relay, in which Wesleyan's Joanna Tice barely touched out Stein. Stein had her vengeance in the 50-yard freestyle, solidly defeating Tice and making the B cut for Nationals in 24.69, months ahead of last year.
"We can always count on Stein, but she's stepped it up to an even greater level this year, swimming in-season bests even without people to race in meets," said Simonsen.
First-years have been a wonderful addition to the team. Stein was quick to praise them. "They are fun and motivating to swim with and really fast," she said.
Petterson demonstrated versatility with a 2:13.57 in the 200-yard butterfly, cutting five seconds in two weeks, and coming in second only to teammate Jill Wyrick '05 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Natalie Dyer '07 swam a 2:12.82 in the 200-yard backstroke, "a time that puts her in great shape to qualify for Nationals come February," said Simonsen.
In freestyle events first-year Margaret Ramsey had great races, in the 200 and 500, and Simonsen expects her to drop more time soon as well. Ramsey hopes to return to butterfly events soon, and Jasmina Cheung-Lau is also likely to shine in the butterfly once given the opportunity.
Upperclassmen are also excelling. Michelle McCreary '05 swam a great 1,000-yard freestyle in 11:01.34, finishing well ahead of the competition. Wyrick, powerful as usual, swam 2:13.58 in the 200-yard individual medley.
Shaw came within a point of qualifying for Nationals in the 1-meter diving event. Chiang's 100-yard freestyle was a solid 55.33, a time she didn't achieve until much later last season.
On Saturday the women are hoping for a reversal of last year's close loss to Middlebury College.
"We've all been working hard in practices, and we've got a really good sense of what we want to get accomplished both as individuals and as a team this season," said Ramsey.