In their first two contests of the season, the Fairfield swimming and diving teams came away a little bruised but still optimistic.
The Stags took on St. Peter’s College in a dual meet held at home on Friday. The teams came in fairly confident, anticipating a strong victory and a good way to start off the season.
This plan went off without a hitch for the women, who easily dominated all over the board and finished with a 126-68 score. Key swimmers included Brittany Hunter ’07, Jennifer Masi ’07 and Rachel Waldstein ’08, all of whom tallied first place wins in their respective events.
In diving, Katharine Yee ’08 and Hillary Urbancic ’10 performed well and placed first and second, respectively, in the one-meter.
For the men, tough competition from St. Peter’s throughout the meet resulted in a close final score of 131-106. Although the team fought hard, it was not able to deliver near the end and was forced to concede the win.
Individuals stood out in the different events, especially Brian Lloyd’09 swimming the 200 IM and divers Diego Ibarra ’07 and Taylor Stecko ’10.
Ibarra said of Friday’s contest, “I was nervous coming in, but I have confidence in the new freshmen on the team.”
Citing the names of Stecko as well as Russ Laub ’07 and Christian Lopez ’09, Ibarra said the younger team members this year are pushing everyone else to work harder. The effort they have been displaying has not been in vain as Stecko, Ibarra and Laub all had strong showings in the one-meter and three-meter events.
But the men are not alone in boasting excellent newcomers this year. The women have also made some exceptional gains, particularly Urbancic in diving and Jen Curtis ’10 in swimming.
As the rest of the campus enjoyed Parents Weekend on Saturday, the Stags were back in action at the pool in a double-dual meet with Loyola College and Providence College.
The women’s side suffered an 81-58 loss to Loyola and a loss 88.50-51.50 to Providence, falling in events such as the 200-meter freestyle and the 100-meter backstroke.
However, several excellent individual performances took place during the day. Hunter, Lee, Urbancic and Waldstein all placed high in their events. Masi also dominated the day with wins in both the 50-free and the 100-free.
The men fell even harder than the women, enduring an 89-48 loss to Loyola and a 104-34 loss to Providence. However, the highlight of the day was again the diving team, as Iberra, Stecko and Laub dominated the one-meter and three-meter events.
Head Coach Bill Farley was surprised by the depth of both rivals coming into the contest. Although Loyola was known to be a tough opponent, he said, it has only been in recent years that Providence has gained in strength.
Hunter said many of the Stags were tired from the previous night, as they normally have two weeks in between meets.
“People were definitely hurting,” said Hunter. “We weren’t as fresh.”
Farley viewed this weekend as a testing ground for the team – a way to assess “where the team is at.”
Hunter agreed: “We just wanted to see where we are. The team looks good; we just need to work individually.”
Overall, Farley was satisfied with the team’s work over the weekend.
“Our main goal is to have a committed team, not just individuals,” he said.
It looked as if his goal was well on its way to being achieved, as team members remained at the poolside long after their events to cheer on teammates.
“We’re taking this weekend in stride,” he said. “We’ll keep building on that to the championships.”
Remaining Schedule:
11/03/06 vs. Yale at Fairfield, Conn. 4:00 p.m. ET
11/12/06 at Marist at Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 1:00 p.m. ET
11/18/06 at Manhattan (W) at Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 2:00 p.m. ET
11/28/06 vs. Iona at Fairfield, Conn. 6:00 p.m. ET
12/01/06 vs. Harold Anderson Inv. at Kingston, R.I. All Day
12/02/06 vs. Harold Anderson Inv. at Kingston, R.I. All Day
12/09/06 vs. Siena/Sacred Heart at Fairfield, Conn. All Day
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