Women
Although the Panthers, entering the season, were expected to be one of the toughest competitors in the conference, the Jeffs’ speed and depth as a team brought them the victory. The Amherst women captured many first places out of the 31 events held at Pratt Pool this past Saturday. Senior captain Brittany Sasser had yet another all-star meet, placing first in the 100-yard backstroke, the 200-yard backstroke and the 200-yard individual medley. In addition, Sasser swam with Ellen Fitzgerald ’10, Brooke Bennett ’11 and Meaghan Stern ’09 to win the 200-yard medley relay.
Stern also won two individual events and swam in two relays. Excelling as usual in the 200-yard freestyle, she took first in the 500-yard freestyle as well. Fitzgerald and Andrea Jensen ’11 won the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events, respectively.
Men
Junior Christian Witzke was named as the NESCAC’s Performer of the Week this past weekend. Witzke won both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events before helping the Jeffs win the 400-yard freestyle relay. Swimming the last leg in 47.45, Amherst easily outpaced Middlebury to the finish.
The team had great breadth of talent. Ryan Colby ’11 gave an impressive rookie performance in the long-distance events, winning the 1,000-meter and 500-meter freestyle events. Mike Waskom ’09 and Reid Fitzgerald ’11 each took individual wins in backstroke, while Connor Boyd ’08 placed first in both the one-meter and the three-meter diving events. Senior captain Andrew Maslan won the 200-meter individual medley, while also contributing to the 200-meter medley relay along with Waskom, Derek Prill ’08 and Tad Homchick ’10.
The Jeffs continue to improve upon their times and will once again have a chance to showcase their talent after the holiday break against Hamilton College.