Garnet to Make Splash in 2008-09
Swarthmore women have achieved high levels of success in the pool over the years and the 2008-09 edition stacks up as one of the more talented teams in recent memory.
Legendary Swarthmore head coach Sue Davis has directed 38 All-American swimmers and 44 national qualifiers in her 34 years at the helm of the Garnet program, and figures to add more accolades with the stable of talented swimmers patrolling Ware Pool these days. Coming off consecutive runner-up performances at the Centennial Conference Championships and the program’s best Division III national meet showing in over ten years (30th out of 52 teams), Davis and the Garnet will settle into the wake of junior Anne Miller (Buffalo, N.Y. / Buffalo Seminary), a four-time All America butterflier whose current 200 time is two seconds off the Division III record, and senior backstroker Allie Jordan (Niskayuna, N.Y. / Niskayuna), owner of three school records.
In just two seasons, Miller has become one of the most decorated swimmers in school history. The junior owns five school records (1650 freestyle, 1000 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 butterfly, 400 medley relay). She repeated as Conference champion in the 100 and 200 butterfly, earning All-American in both events at the 2008 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. Miller’s performance in the 200 butterfly was exceptional; she finished second overall, setting school and Conference records (2:02.44) while becoming the fifth Swarthmore woman to medal at the national meet.
Jordan, elected team captain by her teammates twice, has tallied seven medals at the Conference championships, including a haul of four medals (three silver) in 2008. Jordan is the top backstroke swimmer in program history, holding the top times at 100 and 200 yards, as well as part of the top 400-medley relay.
Depth will be key to Swarthmore’s success in the ’08-’09 dual meets. Junior Casey Osborn (Albany, Calif. / Albany) is one of most versatile performers on the Garnet squad, having captured the silver medal in the 200 butterfly and the bronze in the 200 IM at the Centennial Championships. Sophomore Stephanie Su (Parsippany, N.J. / Parsippany Hills) is the top returning Swarthmore swimmer in the breaststroke, having reached the 100-yard finals at the Conference championships while picking up her two relay medals (a silver on the 400 medley and a bronze on the 200 medley).
Coach Davis will look to a pair of underclassmen, Allison Bishop ’11 (Macungie, Pa. / Emmaus) and Chelsea Brett ’11 (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Trinity), in the freestyle events. Bishop holds the third-fastest time in the 1650 and medaled as a member of the silver-medal 800-yard relay team at the Conference championships. She made the finals in both the 500 (fifth place) and the 1,650 (fourth), combining with Miller to produce the top 1-2 distance freestyle tandem in the Centennial. Brett is the top sprinter on the Garnet squad, having appeared in the finals of the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle at the Conference championships. She captured her first three Conference medals during the relay events, earning silvers in the 200 freestyle and 400 medley, plus a bronze in the 800 freestyle.
A strong start appears in Swarthmore’s cards—the first three dual meets take place in the comfort of Ware Pool, starting with a November 5th engagement with Widener at 6:30 p.m. The Garnet open the Centennial dual meet schedule on November 8 at 2:00 p.m., welcoming McDaniel to campus at 2:00 p.m.