Complete Results Photo Gallery
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - The Ephs opened their season in style this Friday evening with a convincing win over the Springfield College Pride. It was a meet full of excitement in the pool, on deck, and in the stands. The win sets Williams' record at 1-0 on the year, and drops Springfield's to 4-4.
Thrilled to be in their home pool for the first meet of the year, the Williams women's swim team, currently under the direction of Interim Head Coach Nick Stone, captured the win with undeniable dominance. Engines roaring, even after a long Friday full of schoolwork and morning practice, the women placed first in every event of the evening, including both relays and the diving events. The killer quartet of Katie Bennett '16, Breanna Nguyen '16, Madeline Downs '18, and Sarah Thompson '15 set the tone in the opening 400-yd Medley relay, taking first place with an eyebrow-raising in-season time of 3:56.93. Their teammates were hot on their heels, with the combination of Olivia Jackson '17, Megan Pierce '17, Emma Waddell '18, and Catherine Treesh '15 placing second with a time of 4:00.73. Williams also placed fifth and sixth in the event.
Taking off from there, Williams (1-0) proceeded to maintain control of the competition throughout. This evening marked the first showing of the team's newly minted freshman class, and the class of 2018 certainly did not disappoint. Madeline Downs '18 had a first-place finish in the 200-yd freestyle, which turned into an unexpected battle towards the end. Downs later scored a second-place finish in the 100-yd butterfly, just touched out by classmate and fellow butterflier Emma Waddell '18. Other impressive swims from the newest members of the Ephwomen tradition included a second-place finish in the 1,000-yd freestyle by Emma Sawkins '18, with an excellent in-season time of 10:53.76, and another second-place for Katie Priest '18 in the 100-yd backstroke.
While a meet like this one certainly gave Williams the opportunity to show its strength and depth, they did so this evening in a particularly convincing manner. If pressed to zone in on just a few impressive events for the Ephwomen, included is the aforementioned 100-yd backstroke, where Bennett '16 led the charge in a 1-2-3 sweep, followed closely by Priest '18 and Erica Myers '17. The 200-yd butterfly offered another opportunity for such a finish – Thompson '15, taking a break from her usual freestyle events and dabbling in several other strokes, placed first in the event with a time of 2:09.96. Close behind her were teammates Sofie Pietrantonio '17 and Paige Haller '16, who finished second and third with times of 2:12.19 and 2:14.86 respectively.
Later on, in the 100-yd freestyle, sophomore Lauren Jones came back from her previous win in the 1,000-yd freestlye to place first, with a speedy time of 53.59. Coasting in just behind her were Myers '17 and Treesh '16, determined to maintain their substantial lead over their opponent.
Over in the diving well, the Ephwomen refused to be intimidated by Springfield's large numbers. Confident on the boards she knows so well, Ari Ross '17 sprung to a first place victory on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards, further solidifying the team's lead.
Rounding off the meet with a splash was the 400-yd freestyle relay, always a happy ending for the Ephwomen. The carefully crafted team of Thompson '15, Olivia Jackson '17, Waddell '18 and Nguyen '16 took first with a smoldering time of 3:40.34, followed closely by another Williams relay composed of Downs '18, Myers '17, Delaney Smith '18, and Treesh '15. Coming out of this impressive finish, Coach Stone noted that, "We put up some strong performances tonight that showed us where we are in our training. We are in a good place, but still have a long road ahead of us. We are strong as a team, as well as in the pool, and it is going to be an exciting season!"
Following this impressive start to their season, the Ephwomen head to Union College tomorrow for their second dual meet of the weekend. The meet will commence at 1 PM EST.
