The men's and women's swimming and diving teams started their seasons strong two weeks ago, as the women won their first meet of the year 164-136 over Dartmouth and the men came in second at a tri-meet with Navy and Dartmouth.
The women's team traveled to Hanover, N.H. to take on the Big Green, and the young Bears dominated the meet from start to finish.
"I thought that the team felt ready for Dartmouth. We had been training pretty hard in the months leading up to it, and we knew Dartmouth was going to be ready for us," Captain Ainsley McFadgen '09 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "I think some of us were probably nervous as well, but it was a good nervous."
In the first individual event of the meet, the 1000 Free, the Bears swept first and second place as McFadgen and Allyson Schumacher '12 posted times of 10:27.31 and 10:31.14, respectively. Later in the meet, Schumacher and McFadgen switched places in another 1-2 Brown sweep, as Schumacher took first in the 500 Free in a time of 4:59.98, and McFadgen was right behind her with a time of 5:03.53.
"It would definitely be nice if Allyson and I could go 1-2 throughout the season, but there is a lot of competition from some of the Ivies so that won't be easy. She's been great to train with this year; I think we both push each other which is really important during practices and at meets," wrote McFadgen.
"I'm really impressed by the freshman class overall," she added. "They all have great team spirit and good work ethic, and I think they're a great addition to our team."
Schumacher also dominated the 200 Free, taking first place with a record-breaking time of 1:52.25, the fastest ever in the event at Dartmouth's pool. The previous record was 1:52.57, posted by Princeton's Grace Corneilus in 1995.
"I wasn't really thinking about the pool record or going a certain time, I really just wanted to have the race strategy (Head Coach Peter Brown) wanted me to have and beat the girl from Dartmouth," Schumacher wrote. "I'm happy that I went that fast because it was my best time."
After Schumacher's record-setting performance, Sage Erskine '11 took first in the 100 back, posting a time of 59.80. Captain Bailey Langner '10 was then barely edged out of first place by just 0.45 seconds in the 100 breast, but Brown returned to its winning ways for the remainder of the meet, winning six of the final seven events.
Natascha Mangan '11 won the 200 fly with a time of 2:08.08, Candice Sisouvanvieng-Kim '11 won the 50 free in 24.48, Kelley Wisinger '11 touched the wall first with a time of 2:06.54 in the 200 back, Stephanie Pollard '11 took first in the 100 free (53.39), Langner earned the top finish in the 200 breast (2:25.77), and Mangan won her second individual event of the day in the 100 fly (58.62).
"We, as well as the coaches, were happy with how the team swam," wrote Schumacher. "We're proud of our overall performance at the meet."
Bruno also had some success in the relays and on the diving board, as the Bears took first place in the 400 Free Relay with Sisouvanvieng-Kim, Kristen Caldarella '12, Schumacher and Pollard teaming up to post a time of 3:34.42. Brown also added a second place finish in the 200 Medley Relay, with Sisouvanvieng-Kim, Mangan, Caldarella and Jamie Firth '12 combining for a time of 1:51.02. On the diving board, Katie Olko '10 took second and third place in the three and one-meter dives, respectively.
"It's always good to start off the season with a win," wrote McFadgen. "Everyone was ready for Dartmouth and I think that was seen in our performance."
The men's team also defeated Dartmouth to start its season, knocking off the Big Green 183-117 but falling to host Navy 155-131 in Annapolis, MD.
"The team was definitely excited for the Navy and Dartmouth meet, since it was our first league competition and the first chance to see how our training has been working so far," tri-captain Ben Zlotoff '09 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "Brown has historically been very competitive with Navy, and given our close loss to them last year at home, we were definitely ready to race last weekend."
The Bears put together a solid all-around performance, winning eight of 16 events on the day, despite having to overcome some difficult conditions. Navy swims in a 25-meter pool, whereas Brown and the majority of other NCAA teams swim in a 25-yard pool. Brown was also shorthanded for the meet, as the team was missing Johnny Bailey '11 and diver Jonathan Speed '11. The Bears had to battle fatigue as well, as they made the long trip from Providence to Maryland on the same day as the competition.
"I think that we showed how tough we are as a team. I think that we were disappointed to not beat Navy and perhaps disappointed in our individual performances, but given the circumstances, however, I think we were happy with the team performance," tri-captain Rich Alexander '09 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "I think we proved to the other teams in the conference that we have a lot of spirit and will give it 110 percent every time we step up on the blocks, and once we are back to full health and strength, we will be a team to be taken seriously."
The Bears were led by Ryan Kikuchi '11, who had three individual wins at the meet. Kikuchi earned first place finishes in the 100 Free (58.53), 200 Back (2:05.85) and the 200 IM (3:17.90).
"As far as my individual performance goes, I am happy with the results," Kikuchi wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "But since the meet was raced in a 25-meter pool, usually 25 yards, I was unsure if the times I (swam) were fast or not."
Bruno also benefited from strong performances from both Daniel Ricketts '09, who earned first in the 100 Free (51.69) and took second in the 200 Free (1:52.51), and their relay teams. Brown's 200 Medley Relay team, made up of Conor Carlucci '11, Alexander, Kikuchi and Zlotoff also had a strong showing, taking second with a time of 1:46.03.
"It is important that regardless of how you feel, that you step it up on the relays," wrote Alexander. "This year I think we have good depth all around. Every member contributes to the team."
The Bears showed off their depth in the 400 Free relay, as the first team, made up of Alexander, Ricketts, Tucker Wetmore '10, and Alexander Tin '12, time of 3:30.53 was just a little behind Navy, and Bruno's second team of Zlotoff, JD Pinto '10, David Koweek '09 and James Hunter '12 finished in 3:37.78, well ahead of every Dartmouth team.
"Lately, the 400 free relay has been one of the team's best events, given a decent amount of depth in our sprint events," wrote Zlotoff. "We would have liked to beat Navy in that relay, but couldn't come up with a win in the end."
Both the men's and women's teams will head to the difficult Princeton Invitational this weekend, which will feature tough league rivals in Princeton and Columbia, as well as other talented teams such as Utah and Florida.
"We are focusing on the details of our races that often mean the difference between scoring and not scoring in a meet like the Princeton Invitational, so in workouts this week we've been working a lot on our starts, turns and finishes," wrote Zlotoff. "We hope to see some swims comparable to those at Eastern Championships last year. This is a fast meet coming up, and Brown will hold its own."
The women are equally excited to see improvement at Princeton this weekend. Against Dartmouth, McFadgen wrote, the women "were able to come together as a team and really support each other. I think we finished a lot of close races on top. Looking towards Princeton, we want to do more of the same and make sure we have good relays, win close races, and ... continue our momentum throughout the season."
