The Yale women's swim team made a big splash last weekend at the 1996 Eastern Women's Swimming Championships as the Elis finished in second place to culminate one of the team's best seasons ever. Swimming in the Smith Swim Center at Brown, the team recorded 572.5 points, right behind surprising meet champion Brown's 598.5 points.
The competition was a three-day meet that began on Thurs., Feb. 22, and lasted until Sat. night, Feb. 24, against teams from the other Ivies, Army, and Navy. Seventeen Yale swimmers, along with three divers, competed in various events.
The Yale drive for Easterns began in the 500 freestyle. Suzanne Heizer, BR '96, took first place in the event with a time of 4:55.30, setting a new meet record. The win marked her fourth straight 500 freestyle championship, the first time any swimmer has won four consecutive Eastern titles. Teammates Kate Ivers, BK '99, and Danielle Mailloux, JE '98, backed Heizer up, finishing fifth and sixth respectively.
The next big win belonged to Melissa Dalrymple, ES '96, as she captured first place in the 200 individual medley, an event in which she had a perfect record during the regular season. She led the field with a time of 2:03.57.
Dalrymple continued to shine as she combined with Malindi Davies, ES '98, Jennifer Hilturnen, SY '97, and Heizer to capture the title in the 400 medley relay. But even with these wins, the Bulldogs still found themselves in third place behind Brown and Harvard after the first day of competition. They were definitely not without the spirit to pull themselves back up, however.
"The team is pretty close, and I think that's important," Kate Hitchner, PC '98, said. "A lot of people on the team who weren't swimming came up to watch." Teammate Deidre Samuelsen, BK '98, agreed. "Everyone gets really into it. People know what events you are in, and there is a whole Yale contingent standing at the end of your lane cheering for you. It makes you swim faster."
Samuelsen cited freshman Emily Kreger, TC '99, as a paradigm of the team's closeness and spirit. Although Kreger was not swimming, she traveled to Brown to support the team. She also stayed up the whole night before the meet painting signs to hold up during the meet to help spark the team to victory.
The team set out to improve their standings on day two. Dalrymple, Davies, Britt Greineder, TD '96, and Emily de Riel, ES '96, got off to a good start with a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:47.63. Hitchner racked up another second-place finish in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:29.04.
The Bulldogs then kicked into high gear to take over the 200 freestyle event. The pair of Heizer and Ivers captured first and second place, respectively. Heizer led with a time of 1:51.22, and Ivers was not far behind at 1:52.68.
Freshman Ivers did not seem to have any trouble adjusting to the competition in her first Easterns meet. "I was nervous," Ivers said. "I had raced against most of these people in dual meets, but this was the big meet at the end of the year, so it was a pretty big deal."
Yale grabbed its next title in the 100 backstroke, an event that belonged to Dalrymple. She flew to a first-place finish with a time of 56.04 seconds, setting a new Easterns record as well as a Smith Swim Center pool record. The win gave Dalrymple a second straight title, as well as completing a perfect season in the event. Hitchner followed her in for a fourth-place finish at 0:58.43.
The team was not done yet-they won their final race of the day in the 800 freestyle relay. The team of Heizer, Dalrymple, Mailloux, and Ivers came in first with a time of 7:32.96, well ahead of the second-place Brown team.
The race for the Eastern championship came down to the third day of competition. The Yale team was still in third, with Harvard in first, well ahead of the field, and Brown barely clinging to second. Heizer quickly brought the Bulldogs closer with a second-place finish in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 17:05.20.
Dalrymple dominated the next event, the 200 backstroke. Defending her title for the third straight year, she set yet another new pool record with a time of 2:00.00. Hitchner brought in another fourth-place finish, coming in behind Dalrymple at 2:04.33.
The diving team also brought Yale some important points in the standings. Courtney Williams, JE '98, secured second place in the three-meter dive with a score of 466.55.
The last top finish for Yale came in the 400 freestyle (continued on page 26) relay. Ivers, Dalrymple, de Reil, and Heizer finished second, six hundredths of a second behind Brown. "The relays were really important," Ivers said. "Brown has a lot of depth there and that's how they were able to beat us."
While Brown came away with the Eastern Championship, the Yale team came away with their heads held high. "The whole meet was really close. It was all between us, Harvard, and Brown," Ivers said.
Dalrymple and Heizer were able to end their final season in style with impressive individual recognition. Dalrymple was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer, earning the most individual points with 60. "I am very pleased," Dalrymple said. "I am definitely proud to be chosen the best swimmer. It is a big honor to be considered for that, especially because it is chosen by the coaches." Heizer was right behind her, tying for second place in the votes with Brown's Kari Klassen at 57 points.
Everyone seemed happy with the results of the week-end. "They are terrific, and they had a terrific weekend," head coach Frank Keefe said of the team. "This is the best Yale women's swimming team we've ever had, no doubt about it."
"It was a fun season. We are going to miss the seniors," Ivers said. With an Ivy League dual meet championship and a second place Eastern finish, coach Keefe knows that these women have nothing to regret. "It's fun to coach these kids, and when they are successful and do well, it's just that much better."
Copyright 1996, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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