Last weekend, three members of the Oberlin swimming and diving team headed to Case Western University in Cleveland to attend the Case Classic. All three were hoping to improve their times. Unfortunately, they each came up short.
Senior Celeste Mercer is still waiting to find out if she will qualify for the national meet, which will take place in approxmately four weeks. If Mercer fails to make nationals, Oberlin’s swimming season will officially come to a close.
Neither sophomore Burt Betchart, swimming the 200m backstroke, senior Malaika Jeter, swimming the 100m freestyle, nor senior Nate Gross, swimming the 500m freestyle, were able to achieve personal bests.

At the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship, which took place Feb. 15-17, Oberlin’s most successful competition of the year, a vast majority of both the men’s and the women’s teams achieved life-time bests. All three of the swimmers who competed in the Case Classic were among them. Betchart swam the 100m back in 53.39 seconds. Jeter swam her 100m of the 400m medley relay in 1:00.03, and Gross swam the 500m free in 4:57.99, the 50m free in 28.32 seconds and 200m free in 2:16.25. Although Betchart and Jeter were unable to beat the times they acquired at the NCAC Championship, Gross beat his own time in the 500m freestyle.
Mercer, meanwhile, made a B-cut time of 59.80 seconds in the 100m backstroke earlier in the season that still has yet to be considered when the final competitors for nationals are decided in the weeks to come. However, Mercer has decided to retire, and if she does make the cut, nationals will be her final competition.

With the Case Classic over, according to head coach Dick Michaels, “All that’s left is recruiting.”
For next year, Oberlin hopes to recruit a much larger number of first-year swimmers than this year, which was one of the worst recruitment seasons in recent history. Yet Coach Michaels is expecting a successful year and anticipates an excellent 2002-03 season to begin next fall.