Results

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (November 8, 2008) – The Vassar College women's swim-dive team opened its dual meet season with a bang on Saturday, finishing 1-2 in the first event of the meet. Buoyed by its strong start, Vassar cruised to a 175-112 victory over Skidmore College at Kresge Pool. Senior Emily Love (South Windsor, CT/South Windsor) turned in an impressive performance, with four first place finishes, while sophomore Samantha Jones (Hanover, MA/Hanover) and freshman Caroline Shannon (Scarsdale, NY/Hackley School) each took home three wins apiece.

In the first event of the day, the 200-yard medley relay, the Brewer 'A' team of Melisa Brower (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan), Allison Koenker (Huntington Beach, CA/Marina), Meg McCarty (Wilton, CT/Wilton) and Jordana Jantze (Riverside, IL/Riverside Brookfield) finished first in 1:57.57. The Vassar 'B' team, composed of Jones, Shannon, Charley Young (Pensacola, FL/Pensacola), and Jess Lentner (Florence, MA/Northampton) grabbed a second place finish in 1:59.40, giving the Brewers a big lead to start off the day.

The 50-yard freestyle turned out to be another big point-winner for the Brewers, as they claimed the top three spots. Jones took first (26.19), followed by Jantze (26.50), and McCarty (26.72).

“I thought the women came together today, they stepped up as a team and swam very well,” said head coach Lisl Prater-Lee. “A number of them swam different events to make us more competitive and that's where the team element really came through, leading us to a decisive victory.”

Love had a strong day, winning the 200-yard freestyle (1:57.04), 200-yard backstroke (2:15.04), 500-yard freestyle (5:23.93), and racing on the winning 200-yard freestyle relay team (1:43.84). Joining Love on the team were Lentner, McCarty, and Jantze. Love's time in the 200-yard freestyle was a school record.

“That's a huge swim for her, she swam very well,” Prater-Lee said.

Racing in her second collegiate event, Shannon won three events, the 100-yard breaststroke (1:11.58), 200-yard breaststroke (2:33.49), and 200-yard IM (2:17.68).

“Caroline swam some smart races and came out with three win which was huge,” Prater-Lee said.

Along with her win in the 50-yard freestyle, Jones took home wins in 100-yard backstroke (1:04.31) and 100-yard butterfly (1:03.24).

Competing in her first dual meet competition, diver Amela Couture (Brewton, AL/T.R. Miller), finished second in the 1-meter event with a score of 138.90.

“It was a fun afternoon and Vassar showed its pride and got up and competed very well,” Prater-Lee said. “However, this can't be the highlight of first semester, there are many more highlights to come. It's the tip of the iceberg and we've all got to believe that.”