Cory Murphy '95 raced in her last 100 backstroke and Allison Ruff '95 dove off the three meter board in competition at the Karl B. Michael Pool for the final time Saturday.
They leave having been a part of the winningest women's swim team in Dartmouth history. The Big Green won every event but one, beating Army 160-113. The win raised the team's record to 8-2, 4-2 in the Ivy League, and made it the first Dartmouth team to win more than seven meets in a single season.
"It was a great ending to an incredible four years of swimming and diving," Ruff said. "We had a strong win today and we're looking forward to a challenging meet against Yale."
Murphy, Andrea Hill '97, Karyn Bysshe '96 and Deb Whitney '96 returned to winning form in the 200 medley relay, finishing in 1:50.44. The B relay powered its way to second place with a time of 1:55.27, edging Army out by .11 seconds.
Behind 15-2 after the first event, it would not get better for Army. Emilie Ellis '97 won the 1000 freestyle in 10:48.79, followed by Kerry Vance '98 in 11:06.92 and Julie Herron '98 in 11:17.46 for a one-two-three sweep.
Murphy came back to win a tight race in the 200 freestyle. She won in 1:58.49, beating teammate Amy Schneeberger '97 by .35 seconds. Anne Gibson '97 and Liz Rehrmann '98 kept Dartmouth's streak of four straight one-two finishes alive, taking the 100 backstroke in 59.09 and 1:01.53 respectively.
Lindsay Noecker '97 took fifth in 1:06.39, shaving five seconds off her season best.
Army managed to win the 100 breaststroke, but the Big Green quickly returned to the top in the 200 butterfly. Hill took first in 2:15.33, just .19 seconds ahead of teammate Wendy Simon '98. Erin Rinset '98 completed the sweep, taking third with a time of 2:16.51.
With the varsity one meter and three meter record holder diving in her final meet, the crowd favorite was obviously Ruff. She did not disappoint, winning the low board with 235.95 points and winning the high board with 268.2 points. Teammate Ann Craig '97 took third on the one meter with 211.65 points.
Rehrmann opened the second half of the meet with a season best 54.12 in the 100 freestyle winning by 1.68 seconds.
Murphy returned for her final 200 backstroke at home, one of two individual events in which she holds the pool record. She won her second individual event of the meet, swimming a 2:09.51, beating the second place finisher by more than seven seconds.
Hill followed Murphy's dominating effort with one of her own. Her time of 2:22.60 in the 200 breaststroke was 13 seconds faster than the nearest competitor. If Army was looking for relief at this point, it was not going to get any. Whitney took the 500 freestyle in 5:10.32, followed by Bysshe in 5:20.61. Herron brought her 500 home in 5:29.22, for third place and Dartmouth's second one-two-three sweep of the meet.
The Big Green won every event except the 100 breaststroke. Murphy combined with Catherine Sterling '98, Whitney and Rehrmann to win her fourth event of the day, the 400 freestyle relay. The team won in 3:41.49.
"I was really happy with Lindsay Noecker," Coach Betsy Wilson said. "She took five seconds off her season-best 100 backstroke and seven seconds off in the 200 backstroke. I felt that Anne Gibson did real well, after being sick for a week."
"The wins were a real tribute to Ally and Cory. They have been the backbone of the team and it's fitting for them to go out with a win," Wilson said.
The women travel to Yale next weekend, looking for their ninth win. The meet promises to be a challenging one and the Big Green will attempt to avenge last year's loss. After next weekend, the women will take a weekend off before heading to the Eastern Championships at Harvard.
