By Dominic Rapposelli
Sports Editor
Last time out for the Shorewomen, the squad finished 12th out of 13 in the Franklin and Marshall Invitational. This match marks the mid-season point for the team, as they begin the final stretch until Centennial Conference Championships beginning Feb. 20.
The meet was headlined by a historic outing for a pair of freshman swimmers who rewrote program records.
Brooke Bailey set the program record in the 200-yard backstroke record after clocking a 2:09.98 finish. Her 100-yard backstroke finishing time of 59.66 put her in second place on the WC leader board.
Fellow freshman Julia Banker etched her name into the record books with a 4:38.69 final time in the 400-yard individual medley. She also posted the third best time in the 200-yard backstroke with a 2:11.63 finish.
“Before the season started, our coaches set goals and expectations for us as freshmen. Everyone’s goals are different but for me…I wanted to make an impact early on in the season and that was one thing the coaches trusted me to do and accomplish it. It has definitely been rewarding having a very successful season so far and I’m excited to see how much more I grow as the season goes on,” Banker said.
This is a continuation of an impressive start for Banker, who in her inaugural season with WC has several top finishes this season for Washington College, in addition to several top times for the program.
“One thing I had to learn quickly is that the intensity of college swim is very different from club swim or high school swim,” Banker said. “I had to learn to keep the big picture in perspective, which is that conferences are the biggest meets for us…It’s great getting an away meet win or a home meet win but none of that really matters if we aren’t focused on the end result which is conferences at the end of the year.”
Senior Kylee Smith added the best individual time at the meet, with a fourth place finish in the 200-yard butterfly (2:10.40). Smith’s 200-yard individual medley time of 2:13.71 moved her to seventh place in the program leader boards.
“Mid-season is like the trial run of conferences, and we all get nervous, it’s higher stakes. But all these factors really show that this meet is beneficial for the team on a motivational level to really get up and compete. It’s a chance to race different divisions, new swimmers that aren’t in the conference and to produce best times for each team member,” Smith said.
Freshman Kenzie Gorman also vaulted herself into the WC top 10 finishes in the 100-yard butterfly. Her finishing time of 24.90 is tenth best all time for a Shorewomen swimmer.
Washington College has one more home meet before the end of the year, with a head-to-head contest with the Widener University Pride on Dec. 7. The Shorewomen are 20-10 all time versus the pride, in a rivalry stretching back to 1987.
Photo courtesy of WC Athletics.
Photo Caption: The Shorewomen set two program records at annual invite.