Swat Sweeps on Senior Day
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Junior Anne Miller won three individual events and Stephen Shymon ’09 was a double-winner as the Garnet swim teams celebrated Senior Day with a strong team performance that led to the sweep of a Centennial dual-meet with Dickinson in Ware Pool Saturday afternoon.
The Garnet women (6-4, 4-2 CC) posted a 111-94 victory over Dickinson (7-3, 4-3 CC) to move into third-place in the Conference standings while the Swarthmore men (4-4, 3-2 CC) also jumped up into the third spot, defeating the Red Devils (6-3, 3-3 CC) by a score of 119-86.
Swarthmore is peaking at the right time with Conference Championships just two weeks away. “This was a great meet [for Swarthmore],” said Garnet head coach Sue Davis. “Season-best times were being posted left and right.”
A capacity crowd, led by a large collection of former Swarthmore swimmers, came to Ware Pool early as the Garnet teams honored the departing senior class: Doug Gilchrist-Scott (Canton, Ohio / Hoover), Thomas Kelleher (Brockton, Mass. / Moses Brown), Jessica Pritchett (Burke, Va. / Lake Braddock), Laura Rainey (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown), Blaise Sheridan (Tucson, Ariz. / University), Stephen Shymon (Encinitas, Calif. / Univ. of San Diego). Guy Seaton ‘10 (Jacksonville Beach, Fla. / Stanton College Prep), who will graduate early, was also honored before the meet.
The Swarthmore swimmers kept the excitement rolling, with both the top 400 freestyle relays winning easily. The women’s group of Pritchett, Stephanie Su ’11 (Parsippany, N.J. / Parsippany Hills), Casey Osborn ’10 (Albany, Calif. / Albany) and Chelsea Brett ’11 (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Trinity) saw three swimmers post season-best splits for an overall winning time of 4:16.76. The men’s quartet—Santiago Lombo ’11 (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit), Sterling Satterfield ’11 (Durham, N.C. / Charles E. Jordan), Sam Bullard-Sisken ’12 (Silver Spring, Md. / Montgomery Blair) and Gilchrist-Scott—also rocked out three season-best splits to post a time of 3:41.02 and earn the victory.
Miller (Buffalo, N.Y. / Buffalo Seminary) led off the individual events with a commanding win in the 1000 freestyle (11:04.53). Miller’s time was a season-best, as were the performances of Allison Bishop ’11 (Macungie, Pa. / Emmaus), third in 11:16.10, and Sarah Bedolfe ’11 (Dana Point, Calif. / Dana Hills), fifth in 11:30.96.
Shymon (picture above), the top distance freestyle swimmer in College history, followed in Miller’s footsteps in the men’s 1000-yard event. He produced a season-best time of 10:21.24 and found teammate Derrick Kao ’11 (Santa Monica, Calif. / Harvard-Westlake) doing the same thing in a second-pace performance (10:38.76). Shymon and Kao finished 1-2 in the 500-yard event as well, with Shymon breaking the five-minute mark (4:59.42) for the second time this season.
Miller found herself in a head-to-head duel with Osborn in the 200-yard butterfly, barely out-touching her classmate in season-best times (Miller - 2:16.11, Osborn - 2:16.42). Miller had to hold off another pressing teammate in the 500 freestyle; this time being Bishop. Miller slipped in with the victory at 5:26.78 (a season-best) while Bishop finished second (5:29.12, also a season-best) and Bedolfe earned fourth with her season-best time of 5:38.66.
Osborn picked up an individual victory in the 200 IM (season-best time of 2:20.56) while two teammates, Su (2:21.22) and Naomi Glassman ’12 (Palo Alto, Calif. / Henry Gunn) (2:23.96) swam season-best times as well to complete the Garnet sweep of the event.
Su added a victory in the 200-yard breaststroke (season-best time of 2:33.71), posting the third-fastest time in the Centennial this season. Freshman Amelia Possanza (Pittsburg, Pa. / Winchester-Thurston) posted a lifetime-best time of 2:44.97 in the event.
Satterfield continued to surge late in the season, breezing to a win in the 200 breaststroke with the third-fastest time in the Centennial this season (a season-best 2:12.96).
Another thrilling Swarthmore duel developed in the men’s 200 backstroke. Gilchrist-Scott, way out in lane 2, was run down by hard-charging Lombo as both swimmers posted their fastest times of the season (Lombo – 2:03.43 / Gilchrist-Scott – 2:03.47). Bullard-Sisken (fourth in season-best 2:05.09) and freshman Travis Pollen (Elkins Park, Pa. / Abington) (lifetime-best 2:21.02) brought out strong performances in the event as well. Rainey also swam to a season-best in the women’s 200 backstroke (2:23.97), good for third place.
A host of Garnet swimmers registered season-best marks, including Neil Palmer ’12 (Tecumseh, Mich. / Tecumseh) (100 free, 200 free), Henry Linder ’12 (Lancaster, Pa. / McCaskey) (200 breast), Michael Ahn ’10 (Cupertino, Calif. / Monta Vista) (200 free), Kelleher (200 free, 500 free), Claire Shelden ’10 (Lewiston, Mont. / Fergus) (50 free, 100 free), Tim Brevart ’12 (Swarthmore, Pa. / Strath Haven) (50 free, 100 free), August Dinwiddie ’12 (Morris, Conn. / Holy Cross) (50 free), David Dulaney ’11 (Arlington, Va. / Thomas Jefferson) (lifetime-best, 200 fly), Brett (100 free), Seaton (lifetime-best, 100 free) and Laura Pond ’12 (Watertown, Mass. / Phillips Exeter Academy) (100 free).
The Garnet will host Centennial-rival Washington this coming Wednesday, February 11 in a 6:00 p.m. dual meet—the team’s final competition before the annual Conference Championship meet on Feb. 20-22 in Lancaster, Pa.
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