By Ajan Caneda
Writer
The women’s swimming team traveled to Annapolis, Md. last Saturday to compete in a Patriot League quad meet. The Bison defeated American and Lafayette 226-71 and 242-57 respectively, but lost to Navy 160-129. Diver Katie Hetherington ’15 won the one-meter diving event and Stephanie Koziel ’15 won the 200 IM.
“What was different about this meet was that it was long course as opposed to our usual racing distance of yards. The team is definitely on track for a great season,” Koziel said. “All the upperclassmen have been saying that there’s a great new energy to the team this year and I think that’s really been helping us do as well as we have been. This meet really showed us where we stand currently in the league and what other work we have to do in order to meet our goals.”
Koziel also finished third in the 200 meter butterfly and fourth in the 200 meter backstroke. Kelly Pontecorvo ’14 and Melissa Besman ’14 also placed highly, coming in second (9:27.83) and fourth (9:31.46) in the 800 meter freestyle. In the 100 meter breaststroke, Emily Norton ’15 came in second. The 100 meter butterfly was a close race as Kristen Purdy ’14 and Kaitlyn Sweeney ’12 tied for first at 1:07.52. Alex Panzarino ’14 finished in third place, just 1.09 seconds behind them. The Orange and Blue also had a first-place victory in the 400 meter freestyle.
“I think both the swimmers and divers have been doing very well. We have been training very hard this year and it is definitely showing during the meets,” Hetherington said. “In addition, we are very supportive of each other both in and out of the pool, which helps a lot when we compete. Also, the atmosphere at meets is always really fun which produces some really good swims and dives.”
“Overall, the women’s swimming team has had a strong start to the season,” head coach Dan Schinnerer said. “I was very pleased with how good of shape we started the year off and September was a great month of practice for us. Over the last few weeks, we have battled some illness and injury, but we are starting to regain our health and this past weekend was a good step forward. We have had a nice mix of good performances from returning swimmers and some great debuts from a talented frosh class.”
The Bison will be at home next weekend as they compete in the Bucknell Invitational Nov. 18 through Nov. 20.