After two days of competition at the Tate Ramsden Invitational in Hanover, N.H, the Massachusetts women’s swim and dive team took home a win and a loss, while the men’s swim and dive team look a singular loss to Dartmouth College, 229-103. The Minutewomen (4-3) defeated Dartmouth 192-136 but fell to Northeastern 191-130.
The invitational was full of new personal records for members of the swim and dive team on both the women’s and men’s side. Sixteen athletes had personal best performances this weekend.
“I think that it was really encouraging for the whole program to learn to be able to swim fast and dive well at this point in the season,” head coach Sean Clark said. “And it was exciting to have some highlights.”
UMass started off the invitational strong on the diving board, with top performances all around. Emma Petrovich finished first in the women’s 1-meter dive with a score of 284.75 and freshman Shreeya Sinha took ninth with a score of 215.35.
“We have been so lucky to have Emma [Petrovich]. She’s grown into a consistent leader in performance and in process and the whole diving squad can look to her to help navigate any situation,” Clark said. “When things get tough, Emma gets tougher.”
On the men’s side, Andrew Bell captured first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dive, with respective scores of 320.25 and 359.65. Tommy Cotner also had a standout performance for the Minutemen (1-4) with two third place finishes. Cotner placed in the 1-meter dive with a score of 295.40 and third in the 3-meter dive with a score of 316.05.
“He exceeded his lifetime best on both boards and moved up in our all-time top 25 lists,” Clark said of Cotner. “He is now one of the top ten divers of all time on the 3 meter board.”
The Minutewomen displayed good performances over the two days, with several first place finishes. Dylan Moulton took first place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.92, with Summer Pierce and Megan Mitchell accompanying her on the podium as second and third. Pierce finished with a time of 55.02 and Mitchell took third with a time of 55.42. Anna Kwon was another top finisher taking first place in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:04.64. Beatriz Olivieri was not far behind, finishing second with a time of 2:05.88.
“It was kind of a sneaky surprise win in an outside lane, and it really bodes well for her going into championship season,” Clark said of Kwon.
The relay team of Pierce, Olivieri, Margaret Desmond, and Caroline Mahoney continued their success with a comeback first place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with a time of 3:32.08. The Minutewomen also took second place in the 200-yard free relay with Ashley Calderon, Kirsten Ardis, Mahoney and Desmond earning a time of 1:36.68.
Despite coming away with a loss, the Minutemen demonstrated strong performances. Sam Haddad showed up for the minutemen coming in second in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:14.15 and placing second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:09.31. Wilson Dubois showed an exemplary performance in the 1650-yard freestyle with a winning time of 15:49.77. Jake Bailey had an impressive weekend as well, placing third in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:41.95 and a second in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 50.73.
“Something exciting for us at this meet was Jake Bailey. He did his lifetime best in the 100 butterfly and put a big effort up in the 500,” Clark reported, “His 100 butterfly, I don’t want to say it was magical, but it was a superlative swim that charged us up.”
Overall, both teams showed great finishes in the pool and on the diving board and look to continue to improve and amp up the intensity through the end of the season.
“The team dynamics that we’ve fostered have really helped light up the scoreboard,” Clark said. “They want to do it for each other, they want to do it for themselves, they want to do it for UMass. One of my best sayings is ‘it’s not just you out there, its UMass.’”
Both teams find themselves in the pool again Jan. 28 against Fordham at 1 p.m. for their last regular season meet. This home meet will highlight the seniors of the program, and their many successes, before getting ready for the Atlantic 10 championship that starts on Feb. 15.
Lucy Postera can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @lucypostera.