Women swimmers contend for Ivy crown

By Cameron Ansari

Scores of season-best times and a tremendous overall team performance catapulted the Yale women's swim team to a 153-147 victory over archrival Harvard on Jan. 10.

In the meet, held at Cambridge, the lady Bulldogs, under the leadership of veteran head coach Frank Keefe, swam their best meet of the season, earning an impressive win in their first true test of the year. The victory lifted the team's overall undefeated record to a shining 6-0.

Kate Ivers, BK '99, led the way for the team, capturing first place in the 100 meter, 200 meter, and 500 meter freestyle events. "I swam very close to lifetime-best times in all 3 events," Ivers said.

Fellow freestyle swimmer Danielle Mailloux, JE '98, placed well in the distance events for the Elis, winning the 1000 meter race, and placing 2nd in the 500 meter.

"I thought we did really well. We all stepped up and pulled it off. We dug down deep and just did what we had to do," Mailloux said.

Melindi Davies, ES '98, also contributed to the victory, placing 1st and 2nd in the 100 meter and 200 meter breaststroke events, respectively.

Also major factors in the Elis' win were Allison Durley, BK '00, a rookie specializing in butterfly events, and strong veteran backstroker Kate Hitchner, PC '98.

The victory came on the heels of a rigorous and demanding 11-day training session in Puerto Rico, which left many of the Yale swimmers feeling thoroughly exhausted. Their ability to perform so well despite fatigue is a credit to their levels of fitness and determination. They were happily surprised and proud to have done so well against Harvard.

"[In Puerto Rico], we trained twice a day, every day," Mailloux said. "We should swim even faster this weekend since we'll be less tired than we were against Harvard."

Next up for the Elis will be two more road meets. The first of these will take place on Sunday, Jan. 19, at Cornell, and the next will be at UConn on Jan. 25.

The Bulldog squad's biggest challenge will come when they face-off against swimming powerhouse Brown on Jan. 28 at home in the Payne Whitney Gymnasium.

That meet will be followed by the EWSL (Eastern Women's Swim League) Championship tournament on Feb. 20-22. Last season, the Elis finished 2nd behind Brown in the EWSL Tournament. This year, the team is optimistic about its prospects for beating Brown and ending its championship reign. The Bulldogs hope victories in the next few meets will provide them with sufficient momentum for the tough stretch ahead.

Former swimmer and current team manager, Elisa Novak, JE '97, feels that Yale has truly established itself as the leading force in women's swimming in the Northeast. She mentions Brown as the squad's only formidable obstacle.

"Brown has had exceptional recruiting, and is swimming really fast this season. They beat Harvard by the same score we did," Novak said. This is a good indication of the relative strengths of the two teams.

The meet against Brown is on many of the team members' minds, and provides incentive to work hard in the upcoming weeks' practices and meets.

"We've been focusing on Brown ever since last year," Davies said. "We have home-pool advantage, so we'd love for lots of fans to come and watch."

With a victory over Brown, Yale could be well on its way to an Ivy League championship this season, a distinction which they had to share with Harvard last year.

Team leaders are optimistic"I think we can definitely beat Brown," Ivers said. "We have a really good chance since we should all be fully recovered from our training trip by then. It's going to be a battle, but I think we can win it for sure."

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