Facing a pair of NCAA Division II squads, the Washington University swimming and diving teams kept their heads above water, falling to nationally ranked Lindenwood University before soundly defeating Truman State University.

On Friday, the men’s team lost on the road to No. 3 Lindenwood, 147-94, at the same time as the women’s team came up short against No. 9 Lindenwood, 136-107, in St. Peters, Missouri. On the following day, the men’s team dominated Truman State with a 143-77 triumph, while the women’s team cruised to a 138-93 victory in the final dual home meet of the season at Millstone Pool.

The swimmers dive into the pool during the first heat of the men’s 100 yard free.

This weekend’s meet came right in the middle of a stretch against stiff competition for the Bears. The women’s team lost to Division I Iowa State University last weekend, and both teams will travel to face another Division I foe, Western Illinois University, next weekend. According to head coach Brad Shively, the difficult schedule will only help the Red and Green as they get ready for the UAA Championships in February and the NCAA Championships in March.

“When you see really good swimmers, that all the teams across the country have, I think it gives you confidence to go up against whoever you face at the end of the year and feel like you’re going to be prepared to swim well and represent Wash. U. well,” Shively said.

Shively also noted that the brutal weekend schedule tested the endurance and depth of the Bears, further preparing them for bigger meets in the following months.

“To go back to back and swim another meet early the next day is difficult, but it was very similar to what we have to do at all of our championship meets, “Shively said. “I felt like we came back today and had some very good swims after having some really exceptional swims [on Friday].”

Against Lindenwood, Wash. U. won seven events overall. For the women’s team, senior Sophie Gan posted three top-two finishes, including a first-place finish in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:12.84. In the 100 butterfly, senior Amanda Stadermann raced to a winning time of 58.39, finishing just .08 seconds in front of freshman teammate Lauren Sapp.

Freshman Michael Matthews swims the 200 yard butterfly during Saturday’s meet against Truman State. Both the men’s and women’s teams placed first.

On the men’s side, highlights include senior Luke Dobben, who placed first in the 200 free (1:45.22), and junior Andrew Ellison, who nabbed first place in the 1,000 free (9:41.24).

Battling through fatigue the next day, the Bears fed off the home crowd’s energy en route to combining to win 19 of 26 events. Leading the way were Stadermann (2:07.53) and freshman Brandon Lum (1:52.51), who clocked B-cuts in the 200 butterfly in the women’s and men’s races, respectively. Stadermann also joined forces with Gan, Sapp and senior Katie Anderson to triumph in the 400-medley relay with a time of 4:00.39. Meanwhile, Lum raced with junior Michael Lagieski, sophomore Ross Brown and freshman Jordan Wheeler to win the 400-medley relay in 3:30.17.

“We had a lot of people in the stands today…and there was a lot of energy in the building,” Shively said. “It was the last home meet for our seniors, so I think there was something special about that. This was their last time representing Wash. U. in Millstone Pool, so hopefully they drew upon that, had some additional energy, and I thought they did a great job.”