Garnet Sweep Past Pioneers
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Garnet senior Sarah Cotcamp and junior Franny Zhang won three events apiece and Anne Miller '10 broke a record in her first race as the Swarthmore swim teams opened up the 2006-07 season with resounding victories over visiting Widener in Ware Pool Wednesday night.
The Swarthmore women (1-0 overall) defeated the Pioneers (1-1) 124-73 while the men avenged a 2005 loss to Widener, out-scoring the Pioneers (0-1) 113-92.
The Garnet swim team started the evening with a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" for head coach Sue Davis, entering her 32nd season of coaching at Swarthmore, and then easily swept through the opening 400 medley relays. The quartet of Laura Rainey '09, Janice Yeo '07, Casey Osborn '10, and Franny Zhang '08 captured the women's event in a time of 4:13.60 while the Swarthmore men beat the Widener group to the wall by almost six seconds. The winning Garnet group included Douglas Gilchrist-Scott '09, Andrew Koczo '07, Brian Roth '07, and Jason Horwitz '07 with a time of 3:43.47.
The Swarthmore women won eight of the next nine events - Miller made an impressive college debut by breaking the school record in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 10:53.45, besting the mark of 10:55.21 set by Katherine Reid '05. Widener's Katie Troy claimed the Pioneers' lone individual win in the 200 freestyle (2:02.73), but Swarthmore claimed nine points in the race as Julia Wrobel '10, Jennie Lewis '08, and Casey Osborn '10 took second thru fourth.
The Garnet swept the top three spots in the 50 yard free, led by Cotcamp with a time of 25.61. Zhang took down the 200 yard IM in the next event, touching with a time of 2:16.71 while the Garnet butterfly swimmers swept the 200 yard event led by Osborn with a time of 2:15.81 (eighth-fastest in school history). Cotcamp won her second individual event of the night, narrowly beating teammate Wrobel in the 100 yard freestyle in a time of 56.52. Allie Jordan '09 claimed the 200 backstroke in a time of 2:19.61 and the Swarthmore women followed by putting up the top three times in the 500 yard freestyle: Miller (5:25.99), Rainey (5:48.44), and Sarah Gordon '07 (5:49.20). Yeo took the top spot in the 200 breastroke with the ninth-fastest time in school history (2:33.08) with classmate Michele Hom following right behind in a time of 2:37.90. The Swarthmore women topped off the evening by posting the time (albeit swimming in exhibition) in the 400 yard freestyle - Zhang, Cotcamp, Miller, and Wrobel posted a time of 3:49.11
The men's affair was a closer contest - super sophomore Shymon followed up the Garnet victory in the 400 medley relay with 15-second win in the 1000 freestyle (10:35.01). Junior Andrew Frampton swam a strong final split (27.56) to catch Widener's Kevin Carson at the wall for the victory in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.77.
The Pioneers took two of the top three spots in the 50 freestyle before John Heagy '08 got the Garnet back on track with a win in the 200 yard IM (2:07.38). Widener won the 200 yard butterfly and the 100 yard freestyle to pull within 72-66; the Pioneers also won the 200 yard backstroke yet Swarthmore claimed spots two thru five to maintain a 81-76 edge.
Coach Davis lined up her two big guns, Frampton and Shymon, for the 500 yard freestyle and the pair did not disappoint - Frampton won the event in 4:59.15 with Shymon cruising home in second with a time of 5:04.56. The Swarthmore men clinched the victory by taking the top two spots in the 200 yard breaststroke - Heagy won the event in a time of 2:21.19 while freshman Kyle Skolfield was second in 2:24.90. The Swarthmore men capped the evening with a win in the 400 yard freestyle; Gilchrist-Scott, Koczo, Michael Ahn '10, and Horwitz combined to take the top spot with a time of 3:21.53.
The Garnet have a quick turnaround before the Centennial Conference dual meet schedule starts up on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 2:00 p.m. The McDaniel Green Terror come to Ware Pool as Swarthmore begins its 14th season of competition in the Centennial.