The men's and women's swimming and diving teams had a tough weekend on the road, each dropping dual matches to conference opponents. The men turned in some fast times but were unable to upset a talented Cornell squad, losing 126-102. The women were led by a school record from Jessica Larson '06 in the 3-meter dive but failed to defeat Ivy League rival Yale. The Bulldogs took the meet 160-140 in their final home meet of the season.
On the women's side, Larson etched her name into the record books with a score of 308.69 in the 3-meter event. The mark surpassed the previous record of 308.20 held by Sharon Cleary '88 for 18 years. Larson's domination of the Ivy League in both 1- and 3-meter dives this year made the record seem inevitable.
"I've wanted to break that record every year since I've been here," Larson said. "But it didn't happen until my last-ever dual meet."
Larson won the 1-meter event as well, nailing down a score of 271.79. Amy Latinen '07 and Dana Meadow '07 finished in second and third, respectively. Latinen also placed third in the 3-meter dive.
In the pool, Eileen Robinson '06 continued her onslaught in the 50-yard freestyle, winning in 23.94 to remain undefeated on the season. She won the 100-yard freestyle as well, clocking a time of 52.49.
Elizabeth Wong '06 sprinted to victory in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in 57.35. Meredith Cocco '07 touched the wall in 2:06.93 to win the 200-yard butterfly, less than a second ahead of teammate Ashley Wallace '07. The Bears picked up another top finish in the 200-yard freestyle, when Becky Kowalsky '07 finished in 1:53.91.
Bruno edged out Yale in the 400-yard freestyle relay to win the final event of the day. The team of Wong, Kowalsky, Sarah Goodman '09 and Robinson recorded a time of 3:31.62 to nip the Bulldogs at the wall.
The men's loss dropped the Bears to 2-5 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League standings and 3-5 overall, while Cornell improved to 6-2 and 8-2. It was the regular season finale for the Big Red, who held on to a third-place league ranking. Despite the loss, the slim margin of victory proved encouraging for the Brown swimmers, who continue to cut their times.
"We went into the meet believing we had a solid chance of beating Cornell," said Eric Brumberg '06. "Leaving the meet, I still think that our team is capable of doing so. We just lacked the second- and third-place finishes to win today."
Brumberg brought home the team's first victory, taking the top spot in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:53.00. Brian Sharkey '06 led the sprinters once again, taking second in the 50-yard freestyle and third in the 100-yard freestyle. The senior also swam to a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay along with Brumberg, Brian Kelly '08 and Matt Goracy '06.
Arkady Rasin '09 led a 1-2-3 sweep of the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:14.43. He was followed closely by Grant Garcia '08 (2:15.36) and Michael O'Mara '07 (2:17.30).
Matthew Freitas '07 turned in another dominating performance on the boards, winning the 1-meter event with a score of 283.73 and placing second on the high dive with 247.80. Rookie standout William Kai Robinson '09 turned in a solid day of his own, scoring 255.15 to win the 3-meter and 246.90 to take third-place in the 1-meter.
The men will host Yale Saturday at noon at the Smith Swim Center in the team's final home competition of the season. The women will return to competition Feb. 23-25 in Cambridge, Mass., as they take part in the Ivy League Championships, hosted by Harvard.
