The Eagles’ women’s and men’s swim teams made a splash this weekend at the Midwest Invitational during their last meet of the season before the 2013 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. The meet ran from Friday to Saturday and was held at the University of Chicago (Ill.).
The women’s team placed second behind the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with 360 points, and the men’s team came in first, earning a total of 531 points.
“I think the team did really well,” freshman Elizabeth Aronoff said. “A lot of people went a lot faster than they did last weekend at conference, so it was pretty impressive for them to come back and swim a week later and drop even more time.”
Aronoff, who won the women’s Rookie of the Year award at last weekend’s UAA (University Athletic Association) conference in Chicago, didn’t attend this weekend’s meet. The invitational served as a last-chance qualifying meet for swimmers still working toward cuts for nationals next month.
Despite the fact that it was mostly a time-qualifying meet, the Eagles still dominated the pool.
Sophomore Hayden Baker earned the Eagles’ only ‘A’ cut in the meet on Saturday with a time of 49:27 in the 100-yard butterfly time trial. Baker earned a first-place finish in the event. Junior Matt O’Brien earned a ‘B’ cut of 49:41 in the time trial and placed second overall.
The men dominated the 200-yard butterfly as O’Brien won the event with a ‘B’ cut time of 1:51:10. Junior Darrell Eacret finished in a close second with a ‘B’ cut time of 1:51:37. Freshman John Galvin also impressed in the event, placing third and making a ‘B’ cut time of 1:51:73. Sophomore Kevin Flood also earned a ‘B’ cut in the time trials with a time of 1:52:48 and came in fifth place overall.
Another impressive event for the Eagles was the men’s 400-yard individual medley. Galvin finished first with a ‘B’ cut time of 4:02:41. Flood made another ‘B’ cut with his time of 4:05:46, finishing second in the event. Freshman Matt Wu came in third with a ‘B’ cut time of 4:05:41 in the time trials.
The men also were strong in the 200-yard backstroke with three ‘B’ cut times by first place winner and freshman Colin Heil, second place finisher freshman Jared Scheuer and third place qualifier freshman Sam Mitchell. The Eagles swam times of 1:49:94, 1:50:10 and 1:52:26, respectively.
Other wins for the men included sophomore Cameron Herting’s first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle (4:41:33), sophomore Eric Ruggieri’s win in the 200-yard breaststroke with a ‘B’ cut time of 2:05:50 and junior Andrew Gonzales’s win in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58:87
The women also had a successful meet. First-place finishes included junior Jennifer Pak’s performances in the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle with a times of 5:08:70 and 1:52:98, freshman MacKenzie Brosnahan’s 24:11 swim in the 50-yard freestyle, freshman Megan Freeman’s 1:06:91 win in the 100-yard backstroke and sophomore Lexi Tutor’s 2:20:90 finish in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Senior Jacqueline Schneider won two events, earning ‘B’ cuts in both the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57:15 and the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:02:71.
Other qualifying times made during the weekend included Freeman’s second place performance in the 200-yard breaststroke, earning a ‘B’ cut and a time of 2:22:92. Junior Carolyn Cohen also earned ‘B’ cuts with her first-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley and second-place finish in 200-yard backstroke with times of 4:33:70 and 2:06:42, respectively.
Following this weekend’s meet, the Eagles will be attempting to get back into their usual practice schedule.
“Right now, we’re going to be getting back into our routine with normal mornings and lifting and aerobic practices,” Aronoff said. “Then, at some point, we’ll probably start bringing down the yardage and tapering for nationals.”
The team’s next meet is the 2013 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in Shenandoah, Texas on March 20-23. The list of qualifiers is scheduled to be posted on the NCAA website this Wednesday. Divers get their chance to qualify for the championship meet next weekend at the NCAA Diving Regionals in San Antonio, Texas on March 1 and 2.
– Contact Jenna Kingsley at jdkings@emory.edu
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