The women’s swimming and diving team went against the University of Vermont (UVM) on Jan. 20, facing another home defeat at 162-129. The Seawolves now stand at 2-7 in the conference. Vermont lived up to its reputation placing 10-4 in the conference.
The Seawolves struggled to take first place in the first five events. Team ‘A’ composed of Lucy Liu, Brittany Whipple, Angelica D’Esposito and Courtney Teague, finished second in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 4:13.23. Vermont’s team ‘A’ swept ahead with a time of 4:06.72. Brittany Whipple came close to winning first place with a time of 1:10.99 against 1:10.07, but lost to UVM’s Ashley Gillespie.
Teague, although failing to place first, came close to it in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 56.00 against UVM’s Molly MacMillan’s time of 55.35. She had previously placed second with a close time of 26.12 against UVM’s Rachel Kent who had a time of 25.51. On the other hand, Liu who has struggled this season to win first place in the 200-yard backstroke, won it this time with a time of 2:14.84.
The Seawolves finally got a break through Hailey Lewandowski, the athlete of the week, who has continued to give a consistent winning performance this season. Lewandowski placed first in the one meter dive with a score of 242.20, and first in the three meter dive with a score of 226.73. Teammate Lina Pachon won second place by default as the four other UVM competitors were disqualified.
The meet came close to a losing, although clean finish. Rebecca Sayles ended the 200-yard Individual Medley (IM) relay with a first place win in 2:19.17. As in the past, Teams ‘A,’ ‘B’ and ‘C’ placed first, second and third place, respectively in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
The team then faced Fairfield at RecPlex on Jan. 27, making an impressive come back win by 152-143. They currently stand at 3-7 in the season.
The women’s team started the match strongly by winning the 200-meter medley relay. Team ‘A,’ composed of Liu, Whipple, D’Esposito and Teague placed first with a time of 2:06.94.
Sayles kept her performance at an optimum by winning the 800-meter freestyle in a time of 9:38.93 and the 200-meter backstroke in 2:29.59. Liu, who couldn’t have a had a better day, won the 200-meter freestyle in 2:06.96 and the 100-meter backstroke in 1:09.72. Her most unexpected win was the 100-meter fly with a time of 1:08.72.
Lewandowski did not perform as well as she did against UVM. She placed second in the one meter dive with a score of 212.70, losing first place to Fairfield’s Katie Yee who had a score of 244.90. Yee was a formidable opponent as she beat Lewandowski in the three meter dive at 229.95-235.65.
The meet ended with team ‘A,’ composed of Sayles, Whipple, Teague of Nyisha Green-Washington, winning the 200-meter freestyle relay in 1:52.25.
The team will now take part in the America East Championships hosted by Boston University on Feb. 8.
