The men's and women's swimming and diving teams churned the water for the first time on Saturday, with a shellacking of their in-state rivals from the University of Rhode Island. The competition offered a rare opportunity for the men's and women's teams to swim together at home in the Smith Swim Center. Both squads pulled off a clean sweep of the Rams by placing first in every event of the contest. The men outdistanced the Rams with a score of 154-85, while the women won by a tally of 153-97.
The team used the meet as an opportunity to whet its competitive spirit and test its fall training after a month of heavy workouts.
"Basically we used this as a starting point knowing that we will continue to improve from here," said Head Coach Peter Brown. "It's good to have a meet as it exposes things you might not see in practice."
Men nearly perfect ...
On the men's side, Bruno was lead by co-captain Eric Brumberg '06. The senior cruised to victory in three events for the Bears, taking the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 51.03, the 400-yard individual medley in 4:08.40 and the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:13.41.
"I really didn't have any expectations," Brumberg said. "I just wanted to test the waters and get a good feel for my main races."
The men swept the top three spots in the 100-yard butterfly with Richard Alexander '09 and co-captain Matt Goracy '06 following Brumberg in second and third place, respectively. The Bears pulled off a similar feat in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Peter Volosin '08 grabbed first in the race, with Rob Glenn '08 and Christopher Elsworth '09 closing in the next two positions to complete the sweep.
Unlike last year's squad, which competed with a depleted roster, Volosin felt the team's strength this year will be in its numbers.
"We are a more well-rounded team this year," Volosin said. "We won every event and came in 1-2-3 in several (events), which says a lot about our depth."
The men continued their momentum with a first-through-fourth sweep of the 200-yard freestyle. Alexander finished in first with a time of 1:46.52. He was trailed closely by first-year Dan Ricketts, Brian Kelly '08 and Ben McDonald '07. It was more of the same in the 400-yard independent medley. Brumberg took his second title of the day with Arkady Rasin '09 and Michael O'Mara following in suit.
Brian Sharkey '06 turned in one of the strongest performances of the day with wins in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke.
"I would have liked to go a little faster, but who wouldn't?" Sharkey said. "This first meet is just about working out all the kinks."
Brown fared equally well in diving. Matthew Freitas '07 won the 1-meter competition, posting a score of 282.52. William Kai Robinson '09 finished second in the same event with a mark of 267.37. The duo repeated their performance in the 3-meter event, with Freitas claiming his second victory of the day and Robinson snagging the runner-up position.
... As are the women
The women's squad showed little mercy in its rout of the Rams. The Bears started the meet off by winning the top three spots in the 100-yard backstroke. Tri-captain Eileen Robinson '06 led the way with a time of 1:01.09. She was followed by Sarah Goodman '09 in 1:01.24 and Becky Kowalsky '07 in 1:03.05. It was the same story in the 100-yard breaststroke. Helena Sullivan '09 began her Brown career with a win in the event, while Herald Sports Staff Writer Sarah Demers '07 and Ali Will '06 took the second and third positions.
Bruno continued its domination with first- and second-place finishes by Ashley Wallace '07 and Ally Wyatt '08 in the 100-yard butterfly. A clean sweep of the 200-yard freestyle by Elisabeth Kruger '07, Ainsley McFadgen '09 and tri-captain Katey Mirch '06 gave the Bears 16 more team points and widened the overall lead.
Goodman claimed her first individual title in a Brown uniform with a victory in the 50-yard freestyle. Meredith Cocco '07 took the top spot in the 400-yard independent medley with a time of 4:34.41, while Wallace bagged her second win of the day in the 200-yard butterfly.
"This was a great way to start the season," Cocco said. "It was a good opportunity to swim together as a team and get comfortable competing again."
Cocco and Robinson joined Wallace as double event winners with their first place finishes in the 200-yard breaststroke and 100-yard freestyle, respectively. Lauren Harlow '07 and McFadgen kept the winning streak alive with their victories in the 200-yard backstroke and the 500-yard freestyle. The Bears capped off their scoring with a victory in the 700-yard freestyle relay in a time of 6:44.90. Swimming in the event were Goodman, Harlow, Emily Brush '07 and Lauren Zatorski '07.
Tri-captain Jessica Larson '06 and the diving team sealed the deal for Brown with a four-woman sweep of both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. Larson stole the show with two impressive victories. Her marks of 264.37 in the 1-meter and 280.34 in the 3-meter surpassed the qualifying standards for the NCAA Zone competition in March. Dana Meadow '07, Jessica Williams '09 and Amy Latinen '07 took the second, third and fourth spots in the 1-meter, respectively. Meadow and Williams swapped positions in the 3-meter event, while Latinen rounded out the points in fourth.
"This meet was a good starting point, but I hope to improve as the season continues," Larson said. "Some of my dives were a little shaky, but hopefully with time I will feel more confident when competing."
Coach Brown felt both teams turned in strong performances despite a week of tough workouts.
"Our spirit was good and we put up some decent numbers at the end of a tough month of work," Brown said. "We have lots to work on, but overall I'm encouraged about our possibilities this season."
The Bears return to the pool this Friday, traveling across state borders to battle Ivy League foe Harvard.
