Swimming and diving dunks Colby and Bates

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were in need of some fast times and a couple of wins coming into their first weekend of competition in 2011, as the teams held 1-3 and 0-4 records respectively. In their meets vs. Maine rivals Colby and Bates last weekend, the teams delivered just that, sweeping their NESCAC competitors and improving their standing in the division.

The men’s team defeated Colby on Saturday with a 219-58 blowout and followed up with another win on Sunday, topping Bates 185-109. The women’s team beat Colby 213-80 and Bates 188-110.  The 4-0 weekend cast away any doubt that the team could not meet the lofty expectations set earlier in the season.

“Coming off one of our best training trips ever over winter break, I feel that the team has turned the corner and has now gained its focus as we head towards championship season,” said head coach Peter Solomon. “The effectiveness of our training and the team bonding that occurred in Florida has set the stage for an exciting second half of the season.”

The match-up against Colby had a unique sprint format and featured an event that the team has never competed in before –– the 4 x 100 yard Individual Medley Relay.  Andie Tibbetts ’14 led the women’s team with the fastest split in the 100 IM for the season, finishing in 1:02.24. For the men’s team, John Dillon ’11 led the Panthers with a time of 55.19 seconds.

On Saturday, several Panthers had breakthrough swims against Colby. Katherine Loftus ’12 dropped almost five seconds from her 500-yard freestyle and Ethan Litman ’13 dropped six seconds in the same event on the men’s side. Both swimmers won their races, giving the Panthers an early lead that they would keep the rest of the day.

The women showed great depth in the 50-yard breaststroke, an event in which they took the top four places, and again in the 200-yard freestyle when four freshmen finished within a second of each other and the Panthers captured the top five finishes. They would go on to take the top four places in the 400-yard Individual Medley, posting some of the best times in the NESCAC so far this year.

According to Coach Peter Solomon, the best swim of the meet went to Mac Staben ’11 who “dazzled the crowd and his teammates with a surprise win in the 100-yard butterfly.” His time of 53.91 seconds was by far a personal best for Staben.

On Sunday, the Panthers faced a stronger Bates team and were still able to come out on top. The Bates women were neck-and-neck with Middlebury for the first half of the meet, but in the second half the talent and especially the depth of the Panthers proved to be the deciding factor as they posted sweeps of six of 10 events to begin the second half of the meet.

On the women’s side, the Panthers swept the 200-yard butterfly, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM. Jen Friedlander ’12 dropped seven seconds from her butterfly time, winning the event.  Loftus led the women with six individual wins on the weekend, with Alexandra Edel ’14 and Nora Daly ’13 right behind her with five each.

For the men’s team, Dillon’s time of 51.92 in the 100-yard butterfly is currently the fastest time in the conference. Harry Anixter ’13 had a standout meet, with his times in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke already faster than his times from last year’s NESCAC Championships.

All-American Diver Gemma Collins ’12 led the way with four individual wins over the weekend. Her score of 270.90 for 1-meter on Saturday earned NCAA DIII consideration.

The Panthers dominated in the pool and are looking to build on their success at Hamilton on Saturday.

“It will be important to ride this momentum going forward as training intensifies throughout the rest of January,” said men’s captain Matt Vukich ’11.