The Jeffs traveled to Maine on Nov. 19 to face Colby College. Amherst started the meet well with the 200-yard medley relay. Brittany Sasser '08, Jackie de la Fuente '09 and co-captain Margaret Ramsey '07 led off the race, but it was first-year anchor Meaghan Stern who touched out Colby to secure a win in 1:51.96. "[Stern's] anchoring leg of the medley relay at Colby was outstanding," said senior co-captain Mia Anderson.
Following the medley relay, sophomore Julie Kim won the 1,000-yard freestyle with Natalie Dyer '07 coming in third. Stern returned to the pool to lead a dominating squad of 200-yard freestylers: Stern first, co-captain Margaret Ramsey second, Ellie Hewitt '09 third and Kiley Wong '09 fourth.
Defending National Champion Sasser easily won the 100-yard backstroke in 58.44, followed by Alex Lee '09 in third. Jasmina Cheung-Lau '07 and Jen Lewkowitz '08 were a close second and third, respectively, in the 200-yard butterfly.
The large class of first-years made key contributions in their opening meet. Mary Marvel and Erin Morrison went one-two in the 50-yard freestyle and divers Sabrina Dorman and Hannah Shayer-McLeod did the same on the one-meter board.
Stern shone once again as she won the 100-yard freestyle in 53.87, while Sasser handily swam away with the 200-yard backstroke. To complete Amherst's sweep of the freestyle events, Ramsey took first in the 500-yard event, followed by Morrison, Hewitt and Lewkowitz. Margaret Tato '09 took second in the 100-yard butterfly with Anderson third and Gretchen Sisson '06 fourth.
Kara MacLaverty '09 had the second fastest time in the 200-yard individual medley, and the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Stern, Sasser, Lisa Pritchard '08 and Ramsey finished in 1:40.70.
With impressive individual and team performances, Amherst came away with the win by a score of 154-116. "It's fun to swim fast, but the best part of it was to touch the wall at the end and hear the team cheering," said Stern. "I think that is the most exciting part of being on the team, because I feel like a real part of everything even though I'm a freshman ... I think that's why I'm so excited for the rest of the season."
Ramsey was excited about the season-opening win. "I just thought it was an excellent start to the season ... to win close relays," she said. "[It] shows the guts of the team and how competitive we are," added Ramsey.
Amherst also competed at Wesleyan University on Nov. 21. Again starting on the right note, Sasser, Pritchard and Marvel swept the 50-yard backstroke. De la Fuente took second in the 50-yard breaststroke and Ramsey did likewise in the 50-yard butterfly.
Cheung-Lau easily won the 1,000-yard freestyle, while Sasser, Kim and Morrison swept the 200-yard distance of the same stroke. First-years Stern and Marvel went one-two in the 50-yard freestyle quickly earning the recognition of their teammates. "The [first-years] were even more impressive than we expected," said Anderson. "Stern is incredibly fast already and it's only a month into the season-I can't wait to see what she can do after an entire season of training."
MacLaverty took second in the 400-yard individual medley, as did Dorman in one-meter diving. Ramsey placed second in the 100-yard butterfly, with Cheung-Lau in third. Marvel, Morrison and Tato swept the 100-yard freestyle, continuing Amherst's dominance in the event. Sasser and Pritchard combined for a one-two in the 100-yard backstroke, and Stern and Kim did the same in the 500-yard freestyle. De la Fuente placed second and Suzie Luft '08 received fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke.
The two quartets of Kim, Morrison, Stern and Ramsey plus MacLaverty, Lewkowitz, Tato and Pritchard together finished one-two, respectively, in the 400-yard freestyle relay to complete the Jeffs' 169-106 defeat of the Cardinals.
"Wesleyan was great because everyone was swimming with really sore bodies. We'd been through a lot in the week before but you'd never know it. People still stepped up and had some best times," said Ramsey. "It's very exciting to see people swimming fast when they're tired."
Amherst next competes against Middlebury College at home on Saturday at 1:00 in an exciting match-up of two top NESCAC teams. "I expect really fast swims from everyone because we're having so much fun together," said Sasser. "Because we're so close, I expect our relays will be a force against the rest of the league."
Anderson added, "We're looking forward to crushing Middlebury and not having any mercy."
NESCAC Notes
The 2-0 Jeffs are matched in their undefeated state only by Middlebury College. The Panthers defeated both Connecticut College and Tufts University on Nov. 19 in a tri-meet. Williams College was defeated by Boston College, 125-175.