POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (December 6, 2009) – Although the Vassar College women’s swim-dive team graduated an influential class of seniors, including five-time All-American Emily Love, the 2009-10 squad is prepared to begin a new legacy. The Brewers will open their season this Saturday on the road at Skidmore College at 1:00 p.m.
“There’s no doubt that the graduation that group of seniors – which collectively holds 13 school records – left a hole, but it creates the opportunity for everyone to step up and work to continue the success,” said interim head coach Paul Kueterman, who is heading the program while head coach Lisl Prater-Lee is on sabbatical. “Every meet is important for us to prove that we’re still a team to compete with even though we got hit hard by graduation. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of teams.”
Leading the team this season are senior captains
Maeve McCoy and
Alyse Larkin.
“Our upperclassmen provide strong leadership and have created great team cohesiveness and a positive atmosphere,” said Kueterman, adding that the experience and leadership of senior
Jordana Jantze and juniors
Samantha Jones,
Melisa Brower,
Megan McCarty and
Ilene Goodman will complement the captain leadership. “We have a good core of women who have been here awhile and should really help us make strides.”
Jantze, who returns from a spring semester abroad, was a part of three record-setting relay teams, in the 200 Medley (1:52.31, 2007), 400 Medley (4:05.17, 2007), and 400 Free (3:38.05, 2008). Jones (400 Free Relay, 3:38.05, 2008) and sophomore
Amy Entwisle (800 Free Relay, 8:11.74, 2009) also appear in Vassar’s record books.
A crucial returner for the Brewers will be sophomore
Caroline Shannon. Swimming the breaststroke and IM events last season, Shannon was a five-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week and a member of the Seven Sisters All-Tournament team with wins in the 200 IM, 100 Breast, and 200 Breast, as well as swimming on the winning 200 Free Relay team.
Adding to the core of experienced returners is a talented group of six newcomers. “Our newcomers should provide a great lift and make an immediate impact,” said Kueterman, commending the early progress of freshman
Shannon Sara who competes in breaststroke and freestyle.
Two newcomers who will be an immense addition the team are divers. Freshman
Carolyn McLean and sophomore
Christie Musket will join sophomore diving captain
Amelia Couture who was the only female diver last season. With a larger diving squad, the Brewers will be able to capture valuable points they did not have the depth to earn last season.
“Our divers will make a huge impact not just in dual meets, but also at the Liberty League, Seven Sisters, and New York State Championships,” said Kueterman. “It will be great going into events and knowing that we have three divers to complement our swimming.”
The Brewers will compete in four dual meets this semester, opening up on the road against Skidmore this Saturday and travelling to Rensselaer the following Saturday, October 21. Vassar will host back-to-back home meets, against Pace University on Friday, November 20 at 6:00 p.m., followed by a 1:00 meet with cross-river rival SUNY New Paltz on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
“Any time you can go back to back at home it’s really exciting,” said Kueterman. “We’re excited to get students out here to support us and we know there will be a lot of parents as well so it’s a weekend we’re really looking forward to.”
The Brewers will close out the semester at the Liberty League Championships, hosted by the University of Rochester. Last year Vassar placed fourth out of eight teams, and narrowly missed a program-best third place finish as Rensselaer surpassed the Brewers on the final day of competition. With the added depth in the diving events, the Brewers are in the position to make the move into the top three.
“Having a solid foundation of swimming, along with the diving we have added will make us that much more competitive to move up in the standings,” said Kueterman.
Another event in which Vassar would really like to jump a spot is the Seven Sisters Championship, hosted by Mount Holyoke College, January 23-24. Last year the Brewers were edged by Wellesley College for the title for the third consecutive year. Wellesley scored just 89. 5 points more than Vassar as the Blue defended their title for the 12th consecutive year.
“We’re going to need a lot of people to step up because Wellesley always brings a lot of depth,” said Kueterman. “Seven Sisters is a lot of fun and a great tradition and we’ll have a lot of motivation going in there after finishing second the last three years.”