Scott BresslerThe Washington University swimming and diving team devastated Principia College Friday night with crushing victories for both the men’s and women’s teams.
The Panthers, who were blown out of the water, never knew what hit them. All they could see was the wake left behind by a Wash. U. swimmer. For many Bears, it was an opportunity to try an event they had never tried. “We got to swim some of our off events,” said senior co-captain Ross Vimr. The Bears pounced on the Panthers with wins right from the very beginning, scoring 153-64. The Lady Bears shared similar success with a 132-73 victory.
The Red and Green gained their momentum with back-to-back wins in the first four events. The women’s B squad, composed of seniors Katie Hodges and Nicole DeFord, sophomore Jessie Lodewyk and freshman Devon O’Leary set a blistering pace of 1:55.73 to win the 200-yard medley relay.
The men’s B squad of sophomores Alex Beyer and Dan Arteaga, junior Kevin Leckey and senior Tom Morris sliced through the water to take the 200-yard medley relay in only 1:41.23.
They were further propelled by the freshmen in the 1000-yard freestyle with Karin Underwood swimming to success in the woman’s event in 10:59.30 while classmate Michael Flanagan won the men’s event with a time of 10:06.21.
Freshman Anjur Kartik was a speed demon clocking in at 1:49.97 to take the men’s 200-yard freestyle. The Bears showed their dominance in this event as he was closely followed by junior Charles Stewart, sophomore Dima Galkin, and Arteaga, respectively, who finished within 3.39 seconds of Kartik. Kartik also won the 200-yard backstroke at 2:02.33.
“The freshman are absolutely wonderful,” said Lodewyk. “They’re a very important part of the team.”
When the distance was decreased to the 50-yard freestyle event or increased to the 500-yard event, other Bears showed off their speed. Like a dolphin, co-captain senior Meredith Nordbrock cut through the water, setting a new Wash. U. season best of 25.10. Junior Kyle Ota captured first in the men’s event with a quick time of 22.31. Ota (4:57.57) and Nordbrock (5:10.45) also took their respective 500-yard freestyle events.
At the 100-yard freestyle, Stewart took first in the men’s with a 49.50 while senior Kristen Mann won the women’s clocking in at 55.80.
Bears in both squads took first, second and third in the 200-yard individual medley. Sophomore Liz Caravati led the way with a time of 2:16.45 with Lodewyk (2:16.50) and senior Jennifer Yu (2:20.62) close behind. Beyer finished first at 2:00.57 with freshman David Chao and Vimr only seconds behind.
Arteaga also took first in the 100-yard butterfly, burning through the water at 52.16 while Lodewyk took the women’s with a time of 1:01.87.
Senior Priya Srikanth continued her excellent performance in the one-meter diving event, winning with a score of 247.45, topping her previous personal best of 246.15.
This was the last meet of the regular season, which prompted reflection for several seniors. “It was great to end [the regular season] on a high note,” said DeFord, a co-captain. “[My experience] has been nothing short of terrific.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” added fellow co-captain Yu. “It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”
The Bears have a few weeks to practice before the UAA championships, which will be hosted at the University of Rochester from Feb. 21 to 23. According to Nordbrock, the Bears are coming up on tapering soon where they will work really hard and slowly bring down their amount of swimming while increasing the intensity of their swimming.
This year will be different, with skilled swimmers in more events and a diver for both teams. “Our team is a lot deeper strokewise and definitely more well rounded,” said Vimr.
Although the UAA is one of the toughest conferences with former national champions Emory, the team is excited. “Everyone is counting down the days,” said Underwood.