Unsinkable frosh power women's swimming

By Jonathan Berkon

Every Tuesday and Thursday at around 9:30 a.m., most Yalies, groggy from another five-hour sleep, flail aimlessly at the snooze button and stumble out of bed. Unbeknownst to these cranky students, the women's swimming team has already been awake and practicing for three hours. Most swimmers call these practices "exhausting," but all understand they are necessary if Yale is to challenge perennial powers Brown, Princeton and Harvard for the Ivy League crown. Can Yale win the league after a fourth place finish last year? With a large, talented group of freshmen to buoy the speedy upperclassmen, the Elis could capture the conference title for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH The Elis have a strong core of sprinters for '99-'00.

After a year of depth problems, Coach Frank Keefe and his staff recruited 11 swimmers to complement the 13 returning veterans. "The freshmen are strong and fast," individual medley (IM) specialist Linda Tivorsak, TC '02, said. "They swim in events ranging from distance freestyle to IM, so we should have more people in each event." Aside from the sprint freestyle event, Yale lacked the numbers to compete for the title last year. "We had a couple of standouts in each event but nobody behind them," Captain Lindsay Wolter, BK '00, said.

Keefe acquired swimmers that star in breaststroke, backstroke, IM, butterfly, and distance freestyle. Some, like Kimberly Richardson, ES '03, who swims backstroke and IM, and Kelly Maynard, CC '03, who swims backstroke and freestyle sprint, give the team versatility with their multitude of skills. Neither Tivorsak nor Wolter identified one standout freshman, but they expect many of them to contribute to the squad once the season's big meets begin.

Even with the addition of 11 quality swimmers, the team is still faced with the task of replacing last year's captain, Kate Ivers, BK '99. A star freestyle swimmer, Ivers placed fourth, fifth, and 11th in the 200-, 100-, and 500-freestyle events, respectively, at the Ivy Championships and anchored the victorious 400 freestyle relay team. Her absence leaves a void in the team, but her former teammates believe they have the talent to help fill the gap. "Katie was a great captain and swimmer and we cannot replace her, but there are a lot of good swimmers to help," sprint freestylist Meredith Bryarly, BR '01, said. Wolter, who inherits the captain's position, points out that sprint freestyle, Ivers' specialty, is the deepest stroke on the squad.

Wolter has so far been an effective captain, helping to develop a good team dynamic while setting an example with her athletic achievements. "Lindsay has brought the team together and has been a good role model," Bryarly said. In terms of pure swimming ability, Wolter ranks among the best in the league. A backstroke specialist, she finished first at the Ivys in the 200-backstroke and placed third in the 100.

Aside from Wolter, the strength of the team lies in its freestyle sprinters. In the 50-freestyle at the Ivies, Ilene Solomon, ES '02 took second, Emily Grant, DC '02 took fifth, and Bryarly took seventh. The Bulldogs also had four top-10 finishes in the 100 freestyle: Bryarly captured first, Grant, fourth, Solomon, ninth, and Laura Schned, BK '01, took 10th. Shannon Mulcahy, SM '00, currently leads the butterfly swimmers, while Tivorsak paces the IMers and and Alison Swint, TC '02, improves the Elis' breaststroke contingent. Shannon Dunlap, BR '01, who ranked seventh in the one-meter diving and 11th in the three-meter diving, leads the divers, a unit that Bates Gregory, BR '03, will help to improve.

Certainly, Keefe, winner of five Ivy titles in his 19 years in his position, knows how to mold a talented team into a championship one. He is the only Ivy coach who has his men's and women's teams practice together. The women say they enjoy this because it fosters competition at practice. "We are expected to keep up with the men even though they are faster than us," Wolter said. "It adds another level of difficulty. It is also nice to have people cheering for you in practice." The women do have time to bond and train without the men, however, because the morning practices are single-sex. Since these practices are also smaller, the coaches, who work with both men and women, can focus on individual athletes and their skills.

Keefe's swimmers believe they have a chance to topple the league powers and win the Ivies. "That is our goal. We have no idea what we can do until the meets begin," Wolter said. "One half of the team is freshmen—our success depends on how they perform." The team still has its problems. The Bulldogs could use more swimmers, especially since three quit during the preseason. Yale has only three divers—the minimum number allowed—so an injury could cripple the success of the entire squad. But if the team stays healthy and the youngsters perform as expected, the Bulldogs could float to a league crown.

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