Swimmers and divers find consolation in defeat

The weekend before Thanksgiving, the Oberlin Swimming and Diving team swam strongly against two league powerhouses. Unfortunately, neither the men nor the women could upset Wittenberg or Wooster for a team victory.

The men were defeated 133-107 by Wooster and 135-105 by Wittenberg. The women lost 157-79 to Wooster and 135-105 to Wittenberg.

Despite those outcomes, both teams cited the performances of several individuals as consolation. On the men's side sophomore John Limouze won the 500 freestyle and the 200 butterfly in both meets, while sophomore Sean Davis won the 200 backstroke against Wooster. Meanwhile, senior Matt Soellner and sophomore Brian Jones enjoyed first- and second-place finishes in a heated contest with Wittenberg.

First-year Ivan DeJesus said, "We didn't expect [Wittenberg] to swim as well as they did. We knew the meet was going to be tough but individually we swam well." DeJesus is part of the 400 free relay team, along with Soellner, Jones, and senior Jeremy Steinhauer, that beat Wittenberg's top four. "It was competitive but we swam well enough to beat them. We're getting used to leading off from each other. We're becoming more comfortable with each other," DeJesus said.

Against Wooster the men took the top three in the 1000 free with Davis, senior Scott Remley, and sophomore Chris Dudley sweeping first through third.

DeJesus said, "We could've beaten [Wooster] if we had been completely rested but competing for two days in a row is exhausting. It was a good meet and we stepped up and competed as hard as we could."

On the women's side, one of the few bright spots was first-year phenom Celeste Mercer. Against Wooster, Mercer added to her growing number of Oberlin records, shattering previous bests in the 100 and 200 freestyle events; the latter record was formerly held by teammate senior Clara Stemwedel. "Celeste did a great job and we were expecting her to break those records," Stemwedel said. "She broke my 200 free but I wasn't destined to hold it. It was exciting to watch her."

Describing the Wooster meet, Stemwedel said, "We did all right but [Wooster] is considerably faster than us. It was a solid last performance for the fall."

Against Wittenberg, the women fared better as Mercer led the way with another record-breaking performance, this time in the 200 backstroke. She complemented her efforts with a win in the 200 individual medley. Sophomore Aurelie Cabou, first-year Julia Handelman, Stemwedel and Mercer won the 400 freestyle relay.

The members of the diving team were every bit as successful as their swimming counterparts, enjoying sweeps by the men and women in the one meter optionals.

As for the swimming and diving's teams' second semester outlook, Stemwedel said, "We're all looking forward to January."

Both teams swim at Miami University's Redhawk Invitational this weekend. The season then continues after the New Year when the team starts the second half of their season on a winter training trip in Clearwater, Florida.

Dive in: A Yeofish does his best impression of the butterfly. (photo by Becky Johnson)