Scott BresslerThe Bears are back in action as they fly to the University of Rochester for the University Athletic Association (UAA) Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday.
“I’m incredibly excited,” said freshman Devon O’Leary, a member of the women’s swim team. “I think our team is going to do amazingly well.”
Despite the month-long break between its last meet at Principia College and the UAA Championships, the team has been working hard. “We still have our edge,” said junior Charles Stewart of the men’s team. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 in the Division III collegeswimming.com rankings, with the men sitting at No. 5 and the women at No. 8.
The Wash. U. teams are currently the second-highest ranked teams in the UAA, with the rival Emory women’s team ranked third and the men’s team ranked fourth nationally. New York University and Carnegie Mellon University are also ranked in both the men’s and women’s polls, while the University of Chicago men’s team is ranked 10th in Division III.
Both Red and Green teams have fought to have winning records this season. The men are 4-0 in dual meets while the women are 3-1.
The Lady Bears have also tried to fulfill all their team goals that were set at the beginning of the season. “Be classy, have fun, qualify at least half our girls for nationals and stay happy and healthy,” said O’Leary.
So far, the Red and Green has accomplished most of these goals automatically, qualifying seniors Meredith Nordbrock in the 200-yard and 400-yard IM and Priya Srikanth in the one-meter and three-meter dives. Senior Katie Hodges, junior Kelly Kono, sophomores Jessie Lodewyk and Liz Caravati, and freshman Karin Underwood have provisionally qualified in several events.
“The great thing about swimming is that anyone can have a breakthrough season,” said freshman Micki Duncan.
“The whole team is really close,” said Duncan.
The team does several activities to enhance its bonding experience. According to Duncan, the team does ‘secret psych’ where a swimmer is assigned a person and decorates her locker.
At this time last year, the men’s team only had one swimmer qualified for nationals, according to sophomore Alex Beyer. Now, there are six, including juniors Perry Bullock and Julian Beattie; sophomores Bayer, Brian Kushner and Dan Arteaga; and freshmen Michael Flanagan and David Chao. “Michael Flanagan has been a stud in the 200-fly,” said Bayer. “I expect [David Chao] to clean up.”
As the Bears compete, the men’s team is looking for at least a top three finish. “A team goal we have is that every single member of the team will score points at the meet,” said co-captain and senior Tom Morris.
The Lady Bears are also aiming high in the UAA championships. “We’re looking to do the best we can,” said Kono.
-Additional reporting by Joshua Goldman