Cat Baker
Contributing Writer
On Saturday, Feb. 2, The College of Wooster’s men’s and women’s swim teams traveled to the University of Mount Union for their last regular meet of the season. Both the men’s and the women’s teams finished the meet on top, with the women winning by a spread of 30 (159-129) and the men narrowly coming out victorious with a margin of just 10 (154-144). This win was significant for both teams: as Anne Bowers ’21 said, “The women’s team went 9-0 for the dual-meet season, which was amazing since the last time was in the 2004-2005 season.”
The men’s team owed their success to diver Eric Jacques ’22. Jacques commented, “I personally had an amazing meet; however, if it wasn’t for the team, I don’t think I would have been as successful. Without my personal win in diving, the men’s team would have lost the meet. It took lots of effort and cheering, but I was able to come out on top and win a vital and important meet.”
The women’s team started the meet on a strong note with a win in the 200-medley relay by Kate Murphy ’21, Molly Likins ’22, Leah Jorn ’21 and Emma Fikse ’19, with a time of 1:53.32. Nell Kacmarek ’20 pushed the women’s team further up the leaderboard with her wins in the 1000 free and the 200 free, the latter of which she came in first by only 0.11 seconds. Other notable wins include Hannah Langer ’21 in the 100-meter backstroke, Likins in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, Bowers in the 100 and 200 fly, Fikse in the 500 free and Madison Whitman ’21 in the 200 IM.
The men’s team also won the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:39.25 by Josh Gluck ’21, Burke Poeting ’19, Trey Schopen ’20 and Ryan Campbell ’19. Cameron Gelwicks ’19 swam particularly well, coming out on top in both the 200 and the 500 free and placed second in the 50 free. Schopen won 200 fly with a five-second difference, along with winning the 100 free and the 100 fly. Craig Klumpp ’19 and Doak Schultz ’22 placed first and second, respectively, in the 200 backstroke, with a time difference of only 0.09 seconds. Schultz then went on to win the 200 IM.
“This meet was very reflective of the season, for myself and for the team. It was an intense battle from the start, and the team fought hard for the win. To me, this meet was the highlight of the season. There was a narrow margin for failure, and we still came out on top,” Schultz said. “The team now is closer than ever before, as we have grown and worked together week in and week out.”
Jacques mirrored this sentiment, saying, “Our ability to work together has drastically improved since the beginning of the season. Because our team is always together, we often times fight and argue with each other, but at the end of the day, we all care about each other and wish each other nothing but the best in and out of the pool. I don’t think people realize how dedicated and passionate we all are about the sport. From the 6 a.m. practices to the hours of dryland and the academic component, it’s a huge load. I wish people would respect and realize just how hard swimming and diving actually is.”
Bowers also noted that the team is quite successful outside of the pool, with both teams receiving All-American academic status by having at least a 3.0 GPA for the fall semester.
Now, the Scots are busy training and preparing for the four-day North Coast Athletic Conference Championships starting on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at Denison University.