Complete Results
SPRINGFIELD, MA – Steve Kuster's Williams College women's swimming and diving team opened the 2013-14 season with an impressive win over 14th ranked Springfield College 200-94.
The Ephs roared out of the blocks winning the first six events. With the win the Ephs are 1-0 on the year and Springfield fell to 3-4. Williams opened the meet with a narrow win in the 400 Medley relay edging The Pride 4:00.21 to 4:00.50 behind sophomore Katie Bennett. Junior Molly Prindle, senior Alyssa Levine and anchor junior Sarah Thompson. In this race and many of the others, the women faced tighter competition than they had perhaps expected, but managed to capture the win regardless. Williams also placed third and fifth in the opening relay event.
Williams (1-0) won the first six events handily, demonstrating once again the depth and breadth of both their new and returning swimmers. Even after a week of grueling practice and long hours in both the pool and the classroom, the women put on a show worthy of their purple and gold legacy. As Kuster noted after the meet's close, "we've done a lot of good work these past two weeks, and tonight in the meet we saw enough to reinforce our belief and commitment to that work."
The women went on to post numerous impressive finishes across the board, including that of first-year Megan Pierce '17 in the 1,000-yd freestyle. Easily cruising to first with a time of 10:34.21, Pierce was 20 seconds in front of her nearest competitor. The Ephs also took first, third and fifth in the 200-yd freestyle, with Sarah Thompson '15 posting an impressive in season time of 1:55.74 to win the heat. Teammates Katie Bennett '16 and Olivia Jackson '17 were close behind with times of 2:02.04 and 2:02.78 respectively.
The 100-yd backstroke was another solid race for Williams, as well as another showcase for freshman talent. Lauren Jones '17 touched the wall first with a time of 1:00.31, with teammate Faye Sultan '16 right on her heels with a time of 1:01.68. Junior Tess Vorselen rounded out the event with a fourth place finish and a time of 1:02.52.
"The first meet is always learning opportunity for both swimmers and coaches," said Kuster with regards to his new crop of freshman swimmers. "This is our first time really seeing them race."
The sophomore class, however, was not to be outshone. Breanna Nguyen '16 impressed everyone with her season-opening time of 1:07.39, taking first in the 100-yd breastroke. Classmate Maddy Holker had an equally impressive swim in the 200-yd butterfly, taking first with a time of 2:15.00, followed closely by Sophie Pietrantonio '17 who touched in at 2:15.07.
The women held strong throughout the rest of the meet, taking first in the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard IM. The divers held their own on the boards, with Michelle Higgins '15, McKenzie Murdoch '14, and Ari Ross '17 taking second, third, and fourth respectively on the 3-meter. Murdoch also took first on the 1-meter, asserting her dominance in the competitive diving atmosphere of the Springfield Naismith Natatorium.
Closing the meet with a tight race in the 200-yard freestyle relay, Sarah Thompson '15 anchored her relay to victory, beating out Springfield's sprinter quartet with a time of 1:38.62. The team left the meet exhausted but satisfied with their first in-season racing experience. They were pushed to race time after time, but continued to beat out Springfield's faster swimmers – as assistant coach Nick Stone noted, "the women did a good job stepping up and getting their hands on the wall before the other team."
Now, the women gear up for another long week of work before their next meet this weekend. According to Kuster, "we really look forward to continuing our trend of working hard – we are really just getting started."
The women will swim at home next Saturday, November 23rd against Union College.
