P-P Swimming has Strong Showing in Speedo Cup, but Only Finishes Twenty-First at Tournament
By Drew Perraut
Sports Writer
The women's swimming and diving team has gotten off to a solid start this year but had a difficult meet last week at UC Irvine. At the beginning of the season, the Lady Hens placed third out of nine teams at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational and third out of eleven teams at the CMS Invitational. They also defeated Chapman by a wide margin in late November, but the Speedo Cup of last week was a definite setback for the Hens, who are hoping to dominate SCIAC this year.
P-P traveled to Long Beach for the three day Speedo Cup, which was hosted by UC Irvine. The Cup brought together Division I and II teams from across the nation, formidable competition for even the best Division III swimmers. The challenge presented by larger teams proved difficult for the Hens to surmount, and they placed 21st of 23 schools.
Despite a low ranking, the meet was successful in other ways. The P-P women fought hard, as evidenced by new personal record times. During the three days, the Hens accrued 31 best times of the season and a number of personal lifetime bests.
Competition at the Speedo Cup began on Thursday with the 200 freestyle relay. The Hens placed 21st out of 51 competing teams with a combined time of 1:52.33, but the day's greatest victory was in the second race, the 500 freestyle. In that race, Elana McDermott '06 placed 23 of 125 competitors and recorded a time of 5:10.36, officially qualifying her for the NCAA. Following the freestyle, Valerie Stout '05 swam in the women's individual medley, placing 95 out of 150 with a time of 2:18.17.
Three P-P women placed in the next event, the 50 freestyle. Jennie Marble '05 finished 118 with a time of 26.18. She was followed by Elizabeth Wiggs '06 (171, with a time of 28.25) and Joanne Sheng '06 (179, with a time of 28.98). The Hens finished the first day with a total accumulation of only ten points, but the team pressed on, improving on that record on both Friday and Saturday.
Friday's events began with another team competition, the 200 medley relay. P-P finished in the top half, (at 19 out of 56 teams) with a combined time of 1:58.60. Michele Adams '04 then placed 75 of 129 in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:02.20. In the 200 freestyle, both Marble and McDermott placed in the top 100 swimmers. Marble was 82 with a time of 2:00.65 and McDermott was 89 with a time of 2:01.17.
The Cup continued with the 100 breaststroke, which Sara Ball '04 led for the Hens. She was 52 of 97 with a time of 1:10.54. Friday's final event was the 800 freestyle relay. P-P placed 19 of 33 teams, earning 24 points for the day and bringing the team's total score of 34.
The final day of the Speedo Cup brought with it another excellent performance by McDermott but few points for the team as a whole. McDermott swam the 1650 freestyle in only 17:44.06, placing her 15 of 57 swimmers. Her results also qualified her for the NCAA for the second time during the Cup. In other events, Jessie Neufeld '03 led P-P in the 200 backstroke, coming in 85 of 97 with a time of 2:26.40. Marble was 87 of 185 in the 100 freestyle with a time of 56.39. Stout and Ball came in, respectively, 54 and 55 of 95 competitors in the 200 breaststroke, and Adams was 65 of 90 in the 200 butterfly, with a time of 2:20.02. Unfortunately, Saturday's efforts brought P-P only 12 more points, raising their score for the entire Cup to 46.
The somewhat disappointing results of the Speedo Cup present little indication of how P-P will fare overall in SCIAC this season. The women are doing well within their division and have a number of very strong freshmen competitors. Conference play does not begin until February, but the Hens' next meet will be against Colorado College on January 6.
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