"Last time we visited them, they beat us and set four new pool records," head coach Jim Wilson said. "Last year we beat them here though, since away from their home pool, they don't swim that well."
The Big Green knew that Wednesday's meet against UNH (5-1, 1-0 AEC) would be a challenge, but the women entered the water ready to bring home a win. The Big Green had already outperformed the Wildcats this season at the December Brown Invitational, where Dartmouth finished fourth ahead of UNH in sixth.
While UNH took first place in the first event, the 200-yard medley relay, the Dartmouth women finished close behind in second and third.
The team performed consistently well across the boards, earning points in distance events and sprinting events alike.
Olivia Samson '16 took first place in the 1000-yard freestyle, with Kirstin Hocheder '14 and co-captain Erin Henn '14 also earning points in that event. Samson, who has consistently placed first in the 1000-yard freestyle throughout the season, also won the 500-yard freestyle. Danielle Kerr '14 took third place the same race, helping the Big Green's overall point tally.
But those were not the only first place finishes of the night. Kendese Nangle '16 finished first in the 100-yard backstroke and the 50-yard freestyle. Charlotte Kamai '16 won the 100-yard freestyle, after taking second place in the 50-yard freestyle behind Nangle.
The Big Green women were up only 11 points going into the 200-yard freestyle relay, and Dartmouth's fate hinged on the race. Fortunately, Mary Van Metre '14, Emily Holt '16, Natalia Vecerek '14 and Kamai finished in first setting a pool record to seal the deal. Dartmouth also placed third in the same race, with a phenomenal showing from Kerr, Laura Hayes '16, Samson and Sasha Alcon '15.
The women's diving team was also critical to Dartmouth's win against New Hampshire.
Erica Serpico '12, Katy Feng '14 and Fiona Weeks '15 took first, second and third, respectively, in the one-meter event. Feng took first, followed by Serpico in second and Weeks in fourth for the three-meter event.
"Having our divers sweep their events was really important," Henn said. "Diving really helped secure the win for us."
The divers helped the Big Green build up a lead and then regain that lead once it started to slip away in the middle of the meet, Wilson said.
As a team, the Dartmouth women have suffered from injuries and illnesses that made the beginning of the season especially hard, making this win only sweeter.
"We have had a rough road this season," Wilson said. "Hopefully we have turned the corner and can start healing and getting faster now."
While Wednesday's meet was a non-conference meet, the victory bodes well for the rest of the season.
"This win is definitely good for the morale of the team," Isa Guardalabene '13 said. "It bodes well for the next meets and will help our confidence going into Ivy meets."
The freshmen have been racing particularly well, both at UNH and throughout the season.
"Every year when we have fast freshmen, it helps motivate us all to train harder," Henn said. "Seeing freshmen swimming faster ups the standards for everyone."
Coming off this victory, the Big Green will be back in action at the Dartmouth Invitational in White River Junction on Jan. 25.
