As students headed home after finals, the Dartmouth women's swimming team prepared to put a cap on a successful fall. On Dec. 8, they scored a 202.5-96.5 victory over the University of New Hampshire, followed by a loss the next day against Harvard that left the team's record at 2-1.
The Big Green opened against UNH by sweeping the top three spots in the 200 medley relay, winning in 1:52.08. Deb Whitney '96 followed up that victory with a 10:35.88 and first place in the 1000 freestyle.
Dartmouth continued its dominance in the 200 IM, again sweeping the top three spots. The team was led by Corinna Murphy '95, who finished in 2:11.18.
On the diving board, the Big Green were led by Allison Ruff '95. Ruff scored 245.325 to win the one meter diving. Sarah Hobson '97 was a close second, earning 231.825 points. On the three meter board, Ruff scored 214.20 to win. This time teammate Deb Uchtmann '97 finished second with 210.0 points.
The meet against Harvard, one of the Ivy's strongest teams, required a different approach. The team focused more on the individual swims, allowing many swimmers to swim non-specialty events.
Still, it began much like the previous day's competition. The 200 medley team of Murphy, Andrea Hill '97, Karyn Bysshe '96, and Whitney again won, extending their unbeaten streak to three.
However, the story in 1000 freestyle was far different as Harvard's Greta Steffenson broke the pool record, winning in 10:12.85.
Harvard then swept the top three places in the 200 freestyle. Dartmouth rebounded, winning back to back events. Murphy won the 100 backstroke with a 59.56 followed by Hill's victory in the 100 breastroke.
Unfortunately, there were few other bright spots as Harvard went on to break four more pool records. One of those spots was the 200 backstroke won by Anne Gibson in 2:08.93. Murphy finished second in 2:09.86.
Hill again responded to a Big Green win with one of her own, this time in the 200 Breastroke. She won in 2:21.60, winning by over two seconds.
The Big Green turned in another strong performance in the diving competitions. Ruff won the one meter competition with 248.85 points, beating Harvard's best diver by more than ten points.
She went on to improve on the previous day's performance by 34 points on the three meter, but was beaten by Harvard's Lara Jacobson. Jacobson scored 256.05 to win.
Harvard ended the meet with 183 points to Dartmouth's 112. The loss was the Big Green's first of the season bringing their record to 2-1 and 1-1 in the Ivy League.
"These two meets really wrapped up our fall season. I think the biggest thing for us was beating Brown [on Nov. 22]." Coach Betsy Wilson said. "Fortunately, I think it was probably the best training base we have had. People are swimming as fast as they ever have."
After the Harvard meet, the team took off for Coral Springs, Florida for their annual two-week training trip. While there, they scrimmaged against William-Smith. Although no offical score was kept, Dartmouth put in a strong performance.
The team has already been back on campus for almost a week, preparing for its next meet this Saturday at Cornell. The team is looking to repeat last year's success and bring home a victory. After that, the team takes on Massachusetts next Tuesday.
