Sports
Hamilton women’s swimming downs RPI
By Samantha Stoner '13, Sports Contributor
February 9, 2012
The Hamilton’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams wrapped up a strong season with impressive showings at a dual meet against RPI this past weekend.
The seniors on both the men’s and women’s teams, swimming in their final home meet of their collegiate careers, put in a particularly strong performance, reflecting their desires to go out on top. Standout senior Megan Gibbons finished first in the 50 freestyle and the 100 free and anchored a 400 medley relay, which Hamilton also won.
For the men’s team, senior Jonathan Fung put in a particularly strong showing, swimming in the 400 medley relay that finished first, as well as finishing second in the 50 free and 100 butterfly.
The enthusiasm of the fans at home and desire to end the season on a high note resulted in a particularly strong performance from the women’s team, who racked up 155 points to RPI’s 83. For the women, nine swimmers finished first, and Diane Paverman ’13 swept both diving events. Junior Maja Feenick articulated the pride and excitement of the women’s team: “The women's win against RPI was really a great way to end the dual meet season, especially for the seniors. There was such great energy on deck and in the pool, and I can't wait to see how it carries over into NESCACS.”
The men’s team also ended the season on a high note with many team members putting in some of their best times this season. The men’s team did not have any divers competing in the meet, which gave RPI a mathematical point advantage that contributed to RPI’s 131 points to Hamilton’s 92. Notably, first-year Reid Swartz put in a strong performance in this final meet, finishing first in two of his meets.
The positive finish to the season for both the men’s and women’s teams puts them in an exciting place for the upcoming NESCAC Championships. Senior Tom Cyran spoke with enthusiasm about participating in NESCACs.
“We have more confidence in our swims as we proceed to NESCACs in two and a half weeks,” he said. “Looking to Championships, we believe that we can compete strongly on an individual level with many of the swimmers at the top NESCAC schools. It is an exciting point in our season, and we hope to continue our past successes at NESCACs.”
The women’s team will travel to Wesleyan to compete in NESCACs on Feb. 17 and the men’s team will be competing in NESCACs held at Williams the week afterwards to wrap up their season.