The men's and women's swimming and diving teams were focused on teamwork in Ithaca last weekend as they took on Cornell in their second-to-last meet before Brown heads to the league championship. Both squads swam away with solid victories, with the women beating the Big Red 162-138 and the men finishing ahead 176-124.
"It was the most energy our team has had this season at a meet," said Ally Wyatt '08. "It was pretty exciting and fun for all of us."
Coach Peter Brown echoed these sentiments.
"Team spirit was crucial," Brown said. "Cornell came at us with everything they had."
The women racked up a 24-point victory over Cornell, picking up wins in 10 events total. Wyatt and Sage Erskine '11 each won two individual events in addition to helping their team earn a victory in the 200-yard medley relay with teammates Lauren Zatorski '08 and Candice Sisouvanvieng-Kim '11. Other highlights from the meet include Ainsley McFadgen '09 claiming the first individual win of the day in the 1000-yard freestyle followed by Stephanie Pollard's '11 victory in the 200 freestyle.
For women's diving, Jessica Williams '09 kicked off the meet with a second place finish in the three-meter dive. In the one-meter dive, Jacquelyn Rudis '08 picked up her first win of the season, with Katie Olko '10 coming in at a close third.
On the men's side, the Bears racked up a 52-point win, placing first in 12 out of the 16 events, and earning second place in the other four. The men proved their depth as a team with seven different swimmers winning individual events.
"We swam really well,"said Kevin Hug '08. "We had someone step up and swim real fast in every event."
Daniel Ricketts '09 joined a team of seniors comprised of Hug, Grant Garcia '08, and Brian Kelly '08, to pick up a second place finish in the first relay event, the 200 medley. Ricketts went on to claim first place in the 200 free. Along with Ricketts, Conor Carlucci '11, Ryunosuke Kikuchi '11 and Peter Volosin '08 each won two individual events.
Men's diving also contributed to the team effort when Jonathan Speed '11 won the one-meter dive by a 20-point margin, with C.J. Kambe '10 snagging third place in the same event.
The Bears had expected a tough fight, according to Hug, after losing to Columbia in their previous meet - a team Cornell had defeated. This meet was also the first time the senior class had defeated Cornell in a dual meet.
Coach Brown said he hopes the Bears can keep this energy alive as they near their last dual meet scheduled for this Saturday against Yale. This will constitute the closest version of a home meet that this team will see this season. The meet will be held at the Roger Williams pool, with a fan bus leaving from the OMAC an hour before the start. Wyatt said she and the rest of the seniors are hopeful for a good turnout for their final dual meet.
