Final Results

ROCHESTER, NY (December 5, 2009) – A youthful Vassar College women's swimming and diving team proved its mettle at the Liberty League Championships, matching the program's best finish by placing fourth out of eight teams on Saturday at the University of Rochester.

Host Rochester won convincingly with a score of 1,017, followed by Rensselaer with 634 points and third-place Union College with 563 points. Vassar finished with 408 points, followed by fifth place Saint Lawrence University with 358, while William Smith College (245), Skidmore College (209), and Clarkson University (103), rounded out the field.

Despite losing a talented senior class to graduation, including two-time Liberty League Swimmer of the Meet Emily Love, the young Brewers matched their fourth place finish of last season, thanks to an overall effort that saw 12 top five finishes out of 19 total events.

“I'm thrilled with this performance,” said interim head coach Paul Kueterman. “We did lose a lot to graduation, but our talented youth and our strong core of upperclassmen came together and got this team to where it needed to be.”

Sophomore Caroline Shannon had an impressive championship meet for the Brewers, amassing four top-four individual finishes and swimming on the 200 and 400 Medley relay teams that both placed fourth.

“Caroline had a really solid outing,” said Kueterman. “Every race for her was so strong, and she was integral in our relays.”

To complement her second place finish in the 200 IM (2:16.07) on Friday, Shannon also took home three fourth place finishes on Saturday, in the 400 IM (4:53.09), 100 Breast (1:10.80), and 200 Breast (2:34.77). Shannon's finish in the 400 IM was part of an impressive Vassar showing that saw three Brewers in the top ten, paced by a first place finish from freshman Shannon Sara (4:47.80) and a ninth place finish from classmate Alexandra Hughes (5:07.98).

For Sara, it was the highlight event of a strong debut at the Liberty League Championships, as she finished fifth in the 500 Free (5:27.18) on Friday and swam on the 200 and 400 Medley relay teams that placed fourth. Sara also complemented Shannon's fourth place finish in the 200 Breast with a sixth place finish of her own in 2:38.69.

Describing the big 400 IM victory, Kueterman noted “Shannon held tight during the fly and backstroke, and in the breaststroke – which is her best event – she took over the race and held off her opponents in the freestyle to get the win. For her to get a win in the 400 IM in her first Liberty Leagues is quite an accomplishment.”

Junior Samantha Jones notched two big finishes for the Brewers, placing third in the 100 Back in 1:02.31, and finishing fourth in the 200 Back (2:17.58), followed by an impressive finish from junior teammate Melisa Brower who placed sixth in 2:19.17, seconds faster than her seeding time of 2:23.20.

Vassar's relays swam well, placing fourth in both the 200 Medley and 400 Free. Sara, Shannon, Jones and senior Jordana Jantze teamed up for a time of 1:57.65 in the 200 Medley, while freshman Sydnie Alquist, Sara, junior Meg McCarty, and Jantze swam the 400 Free in 3:50.33. In the meet's greatest endurance test, the 1,650 Free, sophomore Amy Entwisle chiseled 20 seconds off her time from last season, finishing in 11th in 19:46.17.

“Our depth was really apparent today, in our relays, in races like the 400 IM and 200 Breast, and in the fact that all three of our divers scored,” said Kueterman.

Freshman Christie Musket narrowly missed a top ten finish in the 3-meter diving event, placing 11th with a score of 271.70, while classmate Carolyn McLean finished 14th (228.70), followed by sophomore teammate Amelia Couture in 15th (215.00).

“This was such a great culmination to the semester,” said Kueterman. “We had so many personal and season bests and it was a really fun atmosphere.”

The Brewers will open 2010 in Plantation, Florida for their annual training trip before returning to the Northeast for an away meet at Trinity College on January 13.