The meet began with a hard-fought Jeff win in the 400-yard medley relay, in which control of the race went back-and-forth before landing solidly in Amherst's hands. Lisa Pritchard '08, Jackie De La Fuente '09, co-captain Margaret Ramsey '07 and Mary Marvel '09 won in 4:05.09, a decisive 2.5 seconds ahead of Middlebury.
Sophomore Julie Kim finished second in the 1,000-yard freestyle behind Middlebury's Sara Cowie, who won all three distance events at the NESCAC Championships last season. First-year Meaghan Stern dominated the 200-yard freestyle, winning in 1:55.92. Ramsey was in third place throughout most of the race before catching a Panther and nabbing second.
Two first-years swam a speedy one-two in the sprint 50-yard freestyle. Marvel won in 25 seconds flat and Erin Morrison was right behind in 25.65. Brittany Sasser '08 broke the 200-yard individual medley pool record from 2000 with her blazing 2:10.18 win. Kara MacLaverty '09 also swam a very strong individual medley, pulling out a third-place time of 2:16.15.
First-year divers Sabrina Dorman and Hannah Shayer-McLeod took second and fifth, respectively, on the one-meter board. Ramsey, Margaret Tato '09 and Jasmina Cheung-Lau '07 all had solid finishes in a close 200-yard butterfly, placing second, third and fourth, respectively. Marvel won her second individual event of the meet, the 100-yard freestyle, in 54.24 seconds, while Pritchard took a close second in 54.48.
"[Marvel] has such a wonderful presence on the team and we love having her after soccer season ... She's an awesome sprinter and really a true racer," said Ramsey. "You'd never guess it from how sweet she is but she can really get up and go."
Sasser also swam away with the 200-yard backstroke, finishing in 2:06.91; a full seven seconds ahead of the competition. In what was effectively a three-way race for second place, first-year Lee fought hard but ended up just four-hundredths of a second behind Panther McKenna Moreau to take third.
Stern battled with Middlebury's Cowie in the 500-yard freestyle, giving the sophomore tough competition. Stern was ultimately second in the dramatic duel, but proved that she can stand among the top conference freestylers. Kim finished third in the close race.
Dorman took second in the three-meter diving with 222.34 points, just shy of the leader. "She was outstanding-I'm so proud of her for pulling out two second-place finishes. Middlebury has some strong divers and Sabrina was really tough and focused out there," said Ramsey.
Dorman said that she gets her inspiration from her teammates. "I think the best thing about the meet was the energy we had as a team. We knew that it wasn't going to be a sure win and we would have to fight for every point," said Dorman. "We came out of the first event ... with a first-place finish and I think that really got us pumped for the rest of the meet. ... That team energy really made me feel like I could step up and give the Middlebury divers some competition."
That energy proved to be contagious as Sasser demonstrated her versatility, winning her third individual event of the day, the 200-yard breaststroke. "Sasser showed how talented she really is by winning the 200 breaststroke-her 'worst' stroke," said senior co-captain Mia Anderson.
The meet finished in the same way that it began, with an exciting relay. "The important parts of the meet were the relays again," said Ramsey. "I think the relays really set the tone of the meet." Kim and Lee opened the 400-yard freestyle relay well, but were just behind Middlebury. Pritchard pulled the Jeffs ahead and Stern masterfully anchored the Jeff squad, which won in 3:38.20. The relay team of Tato, Ellie Hewitt '09, Natalie Dyer '07 and MacLaverty finished fourth.
"Our goal was really simple going into the Middlebury meet-we wanted to win. We figured if we swam to win then the times and personal goals would come along naturally, and that's exactly what happened," said Ramsey. "I love swimming [against] Middlebury because it's a great rivalry with a lot of history and it really gets us excited. Plus Middlebury is always a very strong team-so beating them really means you've accomplished something."
Anderson agreed that the win was a significant accomplishment. "The Middlebury meet was our best showing thus far-everyone stepped up and did their part to ensure that we would win," she said. "People had to swim off-events to fill spots where Middlebury was stronger, and we dominated those as well."
The team's success in the pool has happened in part because of their team unity. "We have an excellent group and I think we get along so well because we share the same goals. Everyone really works hard for each other, which is great," said Ramsey.
"The most important part of the meet was the team's overall disposition, which was positive and happy the whole way through," added Anderson.
Amherst will return to action in January when they host archrival Williams College on Jan. 7. The rivalry between the Jeffs and the Ephs has been especially heated in recent years: Amherst snapped the 16-year winning streak of the Williams' women's swimming and diving team last year on Jan. 10, at Amherst. Last season, the Ephs came out on top in Williamstown, Mass., and the Jeffs would like to repeat the result of two years ago as they host again.
Anderson expressed the team's optimism, "We let Middlebury know that they are not worth our time or stress, and we gave Williams a preview of what's to come."
NESCAC Notes
Williams participated in Yale University's Nutmeg Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. The Ephs' Lindsay Payne won the 100-yard breaststroke, an event in which she is the defending national champion. Connecticut College hosted its own event, the Camel Invitational. Among the participants was Colby College. White Mule Kelly Norsworthy distinguished herself by sweeping the breaststroke events as well as the 200-yard individual medley. Her teammate Kelsey Potdevin swept the three backstroke events. Camel Jess Miga won both the 50- and 100-yard butterfly events.