On Feb. 13 the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams traveled to Canton to compete in the NCAC Championship meet. The men’s team came away with a ninth-place finish while the women tallied up an eighth-place berth.
“While the meet is the culmination of our entire season, I find it generally positive and friendly as well as competitive,” senior Kate McGlone said. “The teams really support each other, especially Oberlin and Kenyon. Each year we do a cheer together for both teams.”
“Conferences is three days of excitement and cheering, nervousness and confidence,” junior Meagan Dunphy-Daly said. “Oberlin is always the craziest team there. We’re the only team that makes lots of signs to hang up at the meet.”
And these signs do not go unnoticed. Said McGlone, “[The signs] not only show our zeal but entertain everyone at the meet.”
The signs however were not the only positive aspect of the meet. Many of the Oberlin swimmers displayed some of their best performances to date.
“The team had an overall great meet,” first-year Kira McGirr said. “A lot of people made really awesome new times.”
“This year the team was very small, but I think each person contributed greatly and improved in their events. There were a lot of people who swam absolutely out of their minds. It was amazing to watch and be a part of,” said Dunphy-Daly.
On the men’s side several swimmers had strong showings.
The 200m backstroke also went well for the Yeomen as three swimmers finished in the top 20. Junior Burt Betchart secured an eighth place finish, while first-year Craig Betchart and junior Chuck Treatman came away with 18th and 19th place finishes.
First-year Thomas Limouze placed fifth in the 500m freestyle and Burt Betchart snagged a sixth place finish in the 100m backstroke.
While many of the individual achievements were eye-opening, arguably the most impressive performance on the men’s side came from the 800m freestyle relay team. Limouze and Pierce along with the Betchart brothers snatched the third place finish from a Hiram team that finished less then a second behind them. Their time of 7:13.01 was one of their fastest of the season.
The Yeowomen swimmers produced some equally impressive performances. The 100m breaststroke was a great event as the Yeowomen grabbed three of the top 20 spots. Juniors Nikki Middaugh, Adrienne Zoller and Dunphy-Daly took ninth, 13th, and 18th, respectively.
McGlone, the lone diver on the team, made a splash as well, taking ninth and 11th place in the three and one meter diving events, respectively.
The 200m relay team comprised of Middaugh, Zoller, McGirr and junior Jo Archibald finished in seventh place while the 800m freestyle relay consisting of Middaugh, Archibald Dunphy-Daly and Davis, nabbed an eighth place finish.
The Yeo-swimmers had many good things to say about the conference meet and the end of the season.
“I feel the season ended well,” Dunphy-Daly said. “The focus this year was personal improvement and having fun. It’s awesome to be swimming your race and to have a whole crowd of your teammates at the other end of the pool cheering for you and going crazy.”
With the conference meet behind them and another season in the books, there is only one thing left to do and that is look forward to next season. "I’m really excited about next season," said Dunphy-Daly. "I was captain this year and feel like I learned a lot about individuals on our team as well as how the team works as a whole. We’ve been recruiting a lot this year, and have a bunch of girls that are early decision who are pretty fast. That should be really exciting."
McGirr said, "I’ve really improved my strokes this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do next year!"