The Big Green women's swimming and diving squad will end nearly a two-month layoff when it travels Saturday to Northeastern to challenge the Huskies.
Dartmouth last swam competitively on November 18 in a win against Vermont. In the interim, the lady swimmers joined the men for a ten-day training trip to Puerto Rico.
"It was a good chance for us to focus on our training," said senior co-captain Lindsay Nicholls. "It went really well and everyone worked very hard."
The meet will be a daunting test for the Big Green, as Northeastern currently possesses an unblemished record at 4-0. Last year, when these two teams met, the Huskies prevailed by the score of 173-127.
"We are all really excited for the meet this weekend," said Kristen LeFevre '02. "Northeastern is a pretty similar team to ours, so there should be a lot of really good close races."
Dartmouth will also benefit from the return of a trio of juniors from their fall off-term. Emily Barsky, Karla Leavens and Kala Sherman-Presser add depth and experience to the ranks of the Big Green.
"I think everyone is anxious for a chance to get up and race and see where all this training has put us," Nicholls added. "It should be an exciting meet."
Holiday Wrap-Up
There was only one Dartmouth swim meet during the entire break, but it was a good one. The men's swimming and diving squad picked up a victory in its meet against the University of New Hampshire on December 10 by the count of 183-115.
The Big Green (2-2, 0-2 EISL) divers provided an especially strong showing against the Wildcats, gaining a 1-2-3 finish in the diving events. Mike Tanana '04 captured the 3-meter event while Scott Brown '02 won the 1-meter competition.
For the Dartmouth swimmers, Luis Barrera '02 led the way with his outstanding performance while establishing personal-best times in both of his races.
"The UNH meet was a really big win for us," said co-captain Paul Schned '03. "It's always nice beating our state rivals especially since they have a tough team this year. The divers really pulled us through by winning their events."
Both the men and women's teams embarked on a winter training trip to Puerto Rico over winter break. Highlights from the excursion included hiking in the rainforest and swimming under a waterfall, but the teams also accomplished plenty of serious training during their time there.
"We worked extra hard in Puerto Rico," said senior co-captain Aaron DeWitt. "Everyone swam fast, especially Paul Schned, who trained consistently faster than anyone I've ever seen. Scott Trubisz '04 and Louis Trotman '04 also stand out in my mind as swimming really well."
The women's team (1-3) did not have a meet over winter break but will face the Huskies of Northeastern on January 5.
The men next compete at the Rhode Island Invitational on Jan. 11 and 12.
