The Bowdoin Orient

December 8, 2000
Volume CXXXII, Number 12

Swim team falls to Tufts

by LAUREN MCNALLY, STAFF WRITER

   Ah, 'tis the season. Deck the pool with Christmas lights a.k.a. hazards to a swimmer's health ("Swimmers roasting in an open pool…"). Have yourselves a merry little Tufts meet.
   The Bowdoin swim team headed to Boston bright and early last Saturday morning for the marathon Tufts meet. The meet against Tufts is traditionally longer than most other regular season duel meets for a simple reason: the men's and women's teams swim separately, for reasons unknown to everyone but them.
   It's the big NESCAC mystery. Needless to say, it was a long and tiring day for the Polar Bears in Speedos.
   The women's team lost to Tufts, in a close meet of 152-130. The 200 medley relay team of Catherine Williams '01, Sarah Hoenig '02, Jenny Mendelson '01 and Kara Podkaminer '03 kicked off the meet with a 2nd place finish and a time of 2:00.60 (to those of you who don't know swimming, that's two minutes, sixty seconds. Very good!) Meredith Hoar '03 took one for the team, swimming the 1000 yard freestyle in 14:31.58 and finishing 4th.
   Bowdoin claimed 1st and 3rd in the 200 yard freestyle with Kara Podkaminer '03 (2:06.90) and Kiele Mauricio '04 (2:08.56), respectively.
   Catherine Williams won the 100 backstroke in 1:03.93. Jenny Scangos '04 and Jenn Laraia '03 placed 3rd and 4th in the 100 breastroke with respective times of 1:21.31 and 1:24.23. Gillian Stevens '04 took the runner-up spot in the 50 freestyle, clocking in at 26.67 (like lightning).
   For the first round of 1-meter diving, Maureen "Mo" Singer '01 placed first with a total of 180.30 points, while Megan Lim '03 was second with 150.30 points. Our divers rule. I put that in because they yell at me for not saying enough about them. But they really do rule.
   After the diving events, the Lady Polar Bears went 2-3-4 in the 100 yard freestyle, with Podkaminer at 57.41, Anna Podore '03 at 59.36, and Gillian Stevens '04 at 59.85. Williams captured the 200 back in 2:19.30, while Allison Benton '03 placed 3rd in the 200 breastroke in 2:45.77.
   Bowdoin picked up 4th, 5th, and 6th place finishes in the 500 yard freestyle, with Annie Blair '03 at 6:13.80, Laraia at 6:44.29, and Meredith Hoar '03 at 7:07.70.
   Bowdoin also picked up first and second place finishes in the 100 yard butterfly with Amy Tow '04 capturing the victory in 1:12.03 and Podkaminer following in 1:15.00.
   For the second round of diving, Singer again placed first with 206.68 points, while Lim was fourth with 127.05 points.
   Bowdoin again captured a 1-2 finish in the 200 yard individual medley; Mauricio won with a time of 2:23.56, and Scangos took the runner-up position at 2:35.21.
   The lady bears rounded out their performance with a victory in the 200 freestyle relay, lining up Allie Hinman '03, Tow, Mendelson, and Blair for a time of 1:54.08.
   The men's team also fell to Tufts, 137-105. Opening up the meet with a second place finish in the 200 medley relay, Matt Hammond '02, Nick Driskill '02, Robie Anson '03 and Mike Long '04 finished in a time of 1:41.75. Matt Byrne '02 took 3rd place in 12:13.43.
   Bowdoin took 3rd and 4th places with Hammond and Dave Harden '03 swimming times of 1:53.64 and 1:58.96, respectively.
Bowdoin also picked up points with a 4-5-6 finish in the 100 back, Andrew D. Shaw '02 turning in a time of 59.13, Anson on his heels with 59.25, and Will Thomas '03 with 1:04.85.
   Diesel Driskill won the 100 yard breaststroke in 1:02.23, while Elliot Dickson '02 and Long went 1-2 in the 50 freestyle with respective times of 22.25 and 22.29.
   In the first round of diving, Darryl Bernstein '04 took 2nd place with 142.13 points and Brian McGregor '04 was fourth with 135.00 points.
   Starting the second half of the meet with a 2nd place finish in the 100 freestyle was Dickson with a time of 49.69.
   Shaw claimed 3rd place in the 200 backstroke in 2:09.70, while Harden, John Clifford '02, and Byrne placed a respective 4-5-6 in the 500 yard freestyle. Let's hear it for team distance.
   Anson earned a 2nd place in the 100 fly, posting a time of 55.76, while Rastaman Hammond and Dan Farnbach '01 went 1-2 in the 200 individual medley with respective times of 2:04.75 and 2:19.12.
   The men finished the meet with 1st and 2nd place finishes in the 200 free relay. Long, Thomas, Anson, and Dickson won the relay for the "A" team with a time of 1:31.97, and the second place team (1:36.20) swam Shaw, Williams, Harden, and Henry Bangert '01.
   Many of the team members expressed their appreciation for coaches Brad Burnham and Mark Glauth.
   "This season is different from any season I have experienced, because it is so technique based. Brad and Mark may think a [slower timed] race is actually a great race if you hold your technique together" said Anna Podore '03.
   Gillian Stevens '04 noticed a difference in coaching styles: "When I saw the women's coach from Tufts yelling and running around the deck, I laughed, because Brad and Mark were standing at least three feet away from the pool calmly watching the events. They see a lot more that way."
   Women's team captain Williams states "I think the team can work more on not getting down after swims that they perceive to be bad, and instead use them as signs for what to work on next."
   Overall, the team expresses a positive outlook towards the rest of the season. They will swim at Bates this Saturday, December 9th. Stay tuned for upcoming home meets in January.