A weakened Dartmouth unit traveled to Columbia this weekend. Beset by injury and illness, the meet did not promise to be one of the Big Green's strongest performances.
But the team overcame adversity and earned a 167.5-127.5 victory, raising their record to 6-1, 4-1 in the Ivy League.
"I think the win this weekend says a lot about the mental strength and emotional pride of our team. We're working through the toughest part of the season," Andrea Hill '97 said. "We know our bodies are tired and several athletes are fighting illness. But we rose to the occasion and put forth our best effort."
The meet opened with a slightly modified version of the Big Green's undefeated 200 medley relay team.
Liz Rehrmann '98 stepped in for Deb Whitney '96. She combined with Cory Murphy '95, Hill and Karyn Bysshe '96 to win.
Columbia rebounded to win the 1000 with Catherine Sterling '98 taking second in 10:50.36. She was followed by Emilie Ellis '97 who finished .05 seconds behind, tying for third.
Murphy and Hill then each won their second event of the day.
Murphy took the 100 backstroke in 58.81 and Hill won the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.80. Rehrmann again stepped up to win the 50 freestyle by more than seven tenths of a second, finishing in 24.90.
Off the diving board, Allison Ruff '95 finished second on the one meter board with 230.25 points.
Teammates Sarah Hobson '97 and Ann Craig '97 combined for third and fourth, but it was not enough and Dartmouth dropped only its third event of the meet 10 points to nine.
It was a rare second place finish for Ruff, but she rebounded to win the three meter competition, scoring 258.375 points, followed closely by Columbia's top diver with 257.25 points.
Craig and Hobson combined for fourth and fifth off the three meter board.
In the second half of the meet, Hill, Murphy and Rehrmann each won their second individual event of the day and their third overall as
Dartmouth quickly pulled away from the Lions. Rehrmann was the first of the three to repeat, winning the 100 freestyle in 54.64. to give Dartmouth a 100.5-68.5 lead.
Murphy followed, beating the field in the 200 backstroke by more than two seconds, winning in 2:08.45. She was followed by Ann Gibson '97 who also finished second to Murphy in the 100 backstroke.
Hill was the last of the three to win again. This time it was the 200 breaststroke in 2:23.88.
Bysshe returned in the 100 butterfly to win in a time of 59.73, avenging her second place finish in the 200 butterfly where she ended up .16 seconds out of the lead.
Sterling also turned in a first place in the second half of the meet to go with a second place finish in the first half of the meet.
She and Kathy Luz '96 combined to take first and second in the 500 freestyle.
The Big Green won the last six events and 11 of the 14 events contested. At the end of the three meter diving, the score was 167.5 to 96.5.
Dartmouth swam the last two events exhibition, allowing the Lions to score the last 31 points. Of course, this didn't stop the 400 freestyle relay from posting the fastest time of 3:43.79.
"We look to rebound from some sickness and injury to put in a strong performance against the best team in the league," Coach Betsy Wilson said.
The women have a tough week ahead of them. Tonight they will swim the University of Vermont at the Karl B. Michael Pool at 5:00. Although the team should sweep aside UVM, their next opponent will be a far stronger foe.
The Big Green goes up against Princeton Saturday, another home meet, at 3:30 p.m. Dartmouth has never beaten the Tigers.
Five years ago, before the arrival of Wilson, many would have said that they might never do so. This year, however, the meet promises to be a close and exciting one and it is not at all clear who take the victory.
