With 341 points and six individual meet records, the women’s swimming and diving team earned its second consecutive second-place finish in the NCAA Championships.
“Going into the meet, I think all of us swimmers and Head Coach Nick [Nichols] knew that we were capable of pulling off something big,” said Meaghan Stern ’10. “We definitely set out to prove that last year was not a fluke [and] to make it clear that this year’s team was unlike any other.”
On the first day of the championships, the Jeffs tallied up enough points to secure second place. Kendra Stern ’11 set a new national record in the 500-yard freestyle event, winning with a time of 4:52.34. The Stern sisters, senior captain Brittany Sasser and Ellen Fitzgerald ’10 teamed up to win the 400-yard medley relay. Sasser also added to the Jeffs’ scoreboard with a second place in the 200-yard individual medley. Furthermore, Erin Morrison ’09, Sasser and the Sterns took third place in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
On the days that followed, the Jeffs continued to show impressive performances. Kendra Stern ’11 won the national title in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:47.19. Her sister, Meaghan Stern, took second place at 1:50.34. Kendra finished the championships by picking up a win in the 100-yard freestyle on Saturday, while Sasser joined the Stern sisters and Alex Lee ’09 to win the 800-yard freestyle relay. They shattered the previous record by seven seconds.
Befitting her spectacular collegiate career, Sasser swept all of the backstroke events. The Amherst senior set a championship meet record in the 100-yard backstroke and handily won the 200-yard backstroke. The Jeffs won one of the last events of the meet—the 400-yard freestyle relay—with the talented lineup of Sasser, the Stern sisters and Morrison breaking yet another NCAA record.
“Every time Kendra Stern or Brittany Sasser stepped up to the blocks, it sort of seemed like the entire pool deck stopped to watch. They just dominated, and their mentality carried over to our relays and to the other girls in individual events,” said Meaghan Stern. “I think when Kendra and I went 1-2 in the 200 free, everyone sort of stopped and went, OK, something special is happening over there at Amherst.”
Although the Jeffs’ performance could not edge out Kenyon College, the team had plenty to celebrate. Sasser received Swimmer of the Meet honors and Nichols was recognized as the Coach of the Year.
“The team’s success this year is a direct result of our attitude this season,” said Sasser. Nichols’ honor “is a fantastic reflection of the great work he’s done with this team since he’s come to Amherst,” she continued. “He is the reason we are able to swim so fast and still have fun.”
The men’s swimming and diving team earned 10th place in the NCAA Championships. Kai Robinson ’09 received Diver of the Meet honors. Robinson swept the diving events, winning the only two individual titles for Amherst.
Alex Fraser ’11 also helped the Jeffs improve their standings with his performance in the freestyle events. Fraser, Tad Homchick ’10, Derek Prill ’08 and Christian Witzke ’09 took a solid fourth place in the 400-yard freestyle relay to wrap up the last day of the competition.