The Tripod

Over winter break, the men's and women's swimming and diving teams took a training trip to Delray Beach, Fl. Despite the cold, the team trained hard, and upon returning to school all of their work paid off. The teams overcame multiple injuries, and have benefited from the contributions of a strong First-year class.

Both teams came away from their Wednesday, Jan. 13, meet against the Vassar College Brewers with wins. The women's swimming and diving team beat Vassar 170-124 for their first win of the season. The Trinity women won both the 200-yard medley and freestyle relays, and Jenna Carroll '12 won the 1,000-yard freestyle. Brooke Haynes '11, co-captain Emily Cote '10, Emily Jensen '13 and Carleigh Haron '13 also won individual events. Kate Bress '12 took both the one- and three-meter diving competitions in the meet.

The men's team defeated Vassar by a score of 160-132. Leading the way for the Bantams was co-captain Andrew Boynton '11, who won the 100-yard butterfly and both backstroke events. Adam Eramo '12 won both distance events, and Adrian Shea '13 won the 100- and 200- yard freestyle races.

Shana Conroy '10 said of the Vassar meet, "It was really exciting that we beat Vassar, especially since we have lost to them in previous years. We have such a strong freshman class and I think Trinity swimming will only continue to improve in the next couple of years."

On Wednesday, Jan. 20, both swimming and diving teams traveled to Mount Holyoke College, where the men's team faced the Elms College Blazers and the women took on the Mount Holyoke Lyons. The women's team finished first in eight of the 13 events to top Mount Holyoke with a score 134-108. It was the team's ninth straight win over the Lyons.

At Mount Holyoke, Bress won the 1-meter diving competition and Jillian Bargar '11 took first in the 3-meter event, continuing their dominance on the boards. In the distance races, co-captain Niki Albino '10 won both the 500- and 1,000-meter freestyles. Saya Lindsay '12 and Haynes took first and second in the 100-yard backstroke. Becky Savage '11 said, "I think our positive attitude and hard work are really starting to pay off, which is important going into our last meets and the NESCAC Championship."

The men's team defeated the Elms College Blazers 121-70. The team effort was helped by a series of strong individual swims, including two individual wins by Eramo, a first place in the 500-yard freestyle for Parker Tricarico '12, and a victory in the 200-yard medley relay.

On Saturday, Jan. 23, the women's team took on Brandeis University in the Trinity Natatorium and won 167-120. Shelby Friel '13 posted three individual wins, finishing first in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle events, as well as the 100-yard butterfly. The relay team of Friel, Cote, Carroll, and Jensen combined to win the 400-yard freestyle relay in record-breaking fashion. Their time of 3:46.81 bested the previous pool record of 3:47.77. Carroll noted of her relay, "It was the last event of the day, and we had decided that we wanted to break this record before the meet was over. Everyone was so excited before the race, and it turned out to be a really great swim."

Last weekend the teams traveled to Wesleyan University to take on the Bowdoin College Polar Bears and the Colby College Mules. Highlighting the afternoon for the women's team was Shelby Friel's first-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly. Her time of 1:00.53 is a new Trinity College record, a record previously set by teammate Haynes last season.

Carroll noted that with one meet left in the regular season, there is a definite sense of optimism, "We are expecting a really strong championship season. The team has seen a lot of improvement this season; in particular our relays have gotten really strong and should do well at NESCACs."

Both the men's and women's swimming and diving teams take on Roger Williams University this weekend, Saturday, Feb. 6, at 1 p.m. in their last regular season meet. On Saturday, the women's relay team will attempt to break another school record as they compete in the 800-yard freestyle relay.

After completing their successful regular seasons, the teams begin preparations for their respective championship meets. The women head to Middlebury College the weekend of Feb. 19 for the Women's NESCAC Championship. The following weekend, Feb. 26-28, the men travel to Williams College to participate in their NESCAC Championship Meet.

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