Several swimmers and divers have already broken pool records and made NCAA cuts in the beginning of what looks to be a very impressive season.
Both the men’s and women’s teams swam strong in the season opener against Colby, with the men sweeping all 16 events for a 139-97 win and the women winning 15 for a score of 145-112.
The highlight of the day for the men’s team was a new Pratt Pool record in the 200-yard medley relay, set by Reid Fitzgerald ’11, Ben McBratney ’12, Tyler Bulakul ’14 and Alex Fraser ’11 with a total time of 1:35.54.
The Lord Jeffs’ returning swimmers put up some great times. Fraser won the 50 free in 21.40 while junior Ryan Lichtenfels won the 200- and 500-yard freestyles with times of 1:44.08 and 4:47.34, respectively. Sheng Hu ’13 won the 100 freestyle to round off the sweep.
Fitzgerald and junior Tim White placed first and second in the 100-yard backstroke, while sophomore Daniel Schwab took the 200 backstroke with a 1:58.93.
McBratney edged out fellow juniors Michael O’Conner and Bart Federak in the 100 breaststroke, but O’Conner won the 200 event. Senior Ryan Colby was dominant in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:01.06, finishing more than six seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Bulakul and his first-year classmates also swam a spectacular first meet. Bulakal won the 100-yard butterfly by more than a three second margin with a time of 52.22.
Conor McAuliffe won the 1,000-yard freestyle and Connor Beaulieu triumphed in the 200-yard individual medley. Bulakul and McAuliffe were joined by first years Bryson Alef and Nick Egan to win the 200-yard freestyle relay with a 1:29.22.
Diver Colin White ’14 won the one-meter and three-meter boards with classmates Ian Stahl and Fadi Hamati coming in second and third, respectively.
The first-year women also had a great debut. Abby Hahn won the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events, and Allison Merz was first in the 100 fly with a 58.93.
Suzi Stein and Anna Pietrantonio won the 200- and 1,000-yard freestyles with times of 2:01.89 and 10:47.75.
Maddy Sprung-Keyser ’13, Rebecca Kelley ’12, Merz and Katie Vincett ’13 won the 200 medley relay to open the meet. Diver Meggie Meisinger ’11 won the one-meter and three-meter boards with scores of 253.20 and 223.73, respectively. First-year Lizzy Linsmayer placed just behind her in each event.
Senior captain Brooke Bennet won the 200 butterfly and 200 IM. Sprung-Keyser and Emily Swett ’13 took the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes, respectively, with classmate Nicole Heise coming in second in both events.
Vincett won the 50 free with a 25.06 and Becca Thompson took the 500 free. The women ended the day with a win in the 200 free relay with great swims from Vincett, Pietrantonio, Heise and Thompson. Colby’s only win of the day was in the 100 free.
The Lord Jeffs continued their early season dominance against Wesleyan last Monday, crushing their Little Three rival.
Senior Kendra Stern was the standout of the meet, setting a pool record in the 200-yard freestyle and swimming two NCAA “A” times in her first meet of the season. Stern led the women’s team to a 136-98 win, while the men’s team swept all 13 events for a 122-79 finish.
Stern’s 1:48.72 in the 200 free earned her one “A” cut, and her 4:55.07 finish in the 500 free undercut the “A” mark by an impressive five seconds.
First-year Merz swam an NCAA “B” cut in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.79.
The Jeffs opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay. Sprung-Keyser, Hahn, Stern and Bennet swam a 1:50.42.
The Cardinals won the 100 free, but the Jeffs took the rest of the freestyle events.
Wesleyan’s only other win was the 400 free relay. Divers Meisinger and Linsmayer were victorious over Wesleyan’s three divers. Meisinger won the three-meter event, but Linsmayer eked out a win on the one-meter board.
The Jeffs were dominant in the 100 backstroke and 400 IM. Swett won the backstroke with a 1:00.77 and was followed by teammates Sprung-Keyser and Louisa Zuo ’11. Kelley was first in the 400 IM with a 4:42.79 finish.
She was more than five seconds ahead of the second and third place swimmers, teammates Cassandra Farnow ’13 and Pietrantonio.
The men’s divers — White, Stahl and Hamati came in first, second and third, respectively. White made NCAA “B” cuts on the one-meter and three-meter boards.
The men swept the freestyle events. Tim White won both the 200- and 500-yard freestyles with times of 1:44.84 and 4:41.71.
Alef won the 50 free with a 22.60, Fraser took the 100 with a 47.39, and Egan finished first in the 1,000 at 10:05.48.
Bulakul was once again well ahead of the pack in the 100 fly with a 52.24 finish, and Fitzgerald led the 100 backstroke with a time of 54.03.
Fraser and McBratney joined Fitzgerald and Bulakul for a winning 200 medley relay and Fitzgerald, McBratney, Lichtenfels and White bagged the win in the 400 freestyle relay with a 3:13.9. The Jeffs head to Middlebury for a dual meet on Saturday.