Following a strenuous eight day training trip to Florida, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams finished their winter break in Northfield, Vermont, enjoying a cakewalk over Norwich University before falling to Middlebury.
The men wasted no time in blasting the Cadets 225-74. They were led by Andrew Buehler, Venkatesh Duvvuri, and Andrew Briggs, who all won multiple events.
Another contributor in the win was Matthew Gagne, who set a pool record in the 100 IM in 55.64.
Sophomore Andrew Seaton scored his first career victory in the 50 breast in a time of 29.62.
The women were even more dominant; they boasted a 200-point margin of victory, taking the meet 224-24.
The veteran Bobcats were the story of the day, as seniors Catherine Sparks, Tara Dugan, and Katy Zingale all won their events.
Sparks continued her strong season with wins in the 50 breast in 31.53 and the 100 medley in 1:04.24.
Dugan won the 100 fly in 1:05.37, and Zingale won the 50 fly in 28.11.
Dugan said “we had fun swimming against Norwich because we got to race events we don’t normally do…a bunch of us set pool records.”
Juniors Emily Depew, Gabrielle Sergi, and Carly Hinkle also posted wins in the dominating performance.
Both teams then traveled to Middlebury, Vermont, to take on the Panthers. Despite a pair of close meets, both the men and the women left Vermont with losses.
The men fell 176-122, while the women went down 186-108.
Gagne won the 200 butterfly and the 200 medley.
For the men, Andrew Briggs and Matthew Gagne once again came away with wins in multiple events. Briggs won the 100 and 200 breaststroke, and
Senior captain Travis Jones had a big day as well, winning both the 1 meter and 3 meters diving events.
Gabrielle Sergi led the way for the women, winning the 50 freestyle in 24.81 and the 100 freestyle in 54.73 seconds.
Sophomore Sarah Bouchard and senior Dugan took the top two places in the 1650 freestyle, a feat matched by freshman Whitney Pain and junior Emily Depew in the 100 backstroke.
Dugan noted that the Bobcats were at a disadvantage without diver Franny Yanover, but that the meet was “a good opportunity for us to see where we are in terms of shape and racing.”
The Lady Cats did finish the meet strong, with Sergi, Hannah Chory, Emilie Geissinger, and Caroline Depew taking the 400 free relay in 3:41.68
Both the men and the women will be back in action on January 18th at 6 PM, when the Bobcats host Bowdoin.
