KINGSTON, R.I. -- The Dartmouth women's swimming and diving team placed first and the men finished a close second on the final day of the University of Rhode Island Invitational on Saturday.
On the women's side, Dartmouth blew away the rest of the field with 473 points, followed by UMass with 319, Rhode Island with 264 and La Salle with 228.
The women won seven individual events and all four relays. Freshman Katherine Davis '08 won the 200-meter freestyle in a time of 1:58.14, followed closely by junior teammate Kristin Simunovich in second at 1:58.35. Pennsylvanian Dana Charles '06 won the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events.
"It is definitely a great confidence booster when our team takes control and dominates a meet. I think this type of racing environment and format gives us some good experience heading into the championship meet season," said the victorious Davis.
The Dartmouth men finished with 337.5 points, just behind UMass (399) and ahead of La Salle (331.5) and Rhode Island (213).
The Big Green men won four individual events, led by Yale Fillingham's '06 dashing top finish in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:42.97. Classmate Kemper Diehl '06 was second in 1:44.74. Fillingham also took first in the 100-meter freestyle.
On Sunday, just hours after returning to campus, Dartmouth's stalwart men took on Columbia in a dual meet. The Lions defeated the Dartmouth swimming team, 141-75, at Karl Michael Pool.
Fillingham was runner-up in the 100-meter freestyle (48.26) and the 200-meter free (1:44.79), in addition to swimming a leg of the victorious 400-meter freestyle relay. Sophomore Peter "Reach for the Sky" Laidlaw '07, John Reidy '06 and Diehl rounded out the quartet that combined for a time of 3:13.24.
The Dartmouth men's diving team performed very well against Columbia. Andrew Berry '08 of Middleton, Wis., won the one-meter diving with a score of 277.95.
Sophomore Evan "Oh So Adorable" Sparks '07 quipped, "Our team has made some great progress over the course of the season, and should be a force to be reckoned with at Eastern championships."
Dartmouth returns to action on Saturday, January 22, traveling to Yale for a meet with Penn.
"I'm really looking forward to competing at Yale," said Fillingham. "For some reason, I tend to swim my best on their campus."
