Women’s swimming and diving opens against Yale

The women’s swimming and diving team opens its dual-meet season against Yale this weekend. Both teams have strong returning members and freshman recruit classes filled with potential entering the 2009-10 competition.

Last season, the Bulldogs finished 6-5 in the dual-meet portion of their schedule. However, Yale pulled off an impressive performance at the Ivy League Championships, capturing third place behind Harvard and Princeton. The Bulldogs earned a total of 1038 points, besting both Penn and Columbia, who finished with totals of 948 and 916, respectively.

Sophomore Hayes Hyde and senior Susan Kim were the Bulldogs’ stars in the effort, and both earned all-Ivy honors as a result. Hyde participated in seven ‘A’ finals, picking up points for the Bulldogs with a first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, second place in the 200-yard individual medley, during which she also broke the Yale record, and third in the 100-yard butterfly. Kim swam in five ‘A’ finals with two Yale-record-setting performances and first-place finishes in the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes. While Yale graduated six swimmers and one diver last spring, Kim and Hyde return this year, looking to impress once again. In addition, this year’s senior captain Andrea Clifford will be a force in the pool in the free and fly events.

The 2008-09 season also opened in a Columbia-Yale faceoff. The Lions edged the Bulldogs by ten points, 155-145. Columbia opened the swim meet with a 1-3 finish in the 200-yard medley relay during which Lauren Fraley, Mariele Dunn, Allison Hobbs, and Hannah Galey touched the wall first in a time of 1:44.99. While Fraley and Galey have since graduated, Dunn, who also took first in the 100-yard breast, and Hobbs, who took first in the 50-yard free and 100-yard fly, return to the Columbia pool this season and will definitely be an integral part of this year’s hope for success.

However, the Bulldogs threatened the Lions’ victory last meet during the 200-yard butterfly, sweeping the top three spots for 16 points. In addition, although the Light Blue placed first in the 50-yard free and one-meter dive, the Bulldogs took second through fifth, adding significantly to their point total.

The Bulldogs will look for revenge on Friday at 5 p.m. in Uris Pool.