Splashing and dashing into season

On October 8, Stevens Women’s Swimming had its dual meet season opener against Kean University. 

Stevens fell 172-89, but the Ducks battled a few obstacles in and out of the pool the week leading up to the meet. The team was unable to practice in the pool because of bacteria issues, but the team did not let this hinder its training routine. Junior Lauren Smith said, “It was a team effort and none of us could have gotten through […] if we didn’t have all of us [working out together] and doing team practices.” Smith’s sophomore teammate Julia Munger also said that “team leadership and camaraderie was really important for us to stick together and make sure that we were ready as best as we [could] be going into Saturday.”

Stevens claimed two titles, each by first-years. Gabby Tyer clocked a 5:34.80 in the 500 yard Freestyle, making her the fastest time in the Middle Atlantic Conference thus far in the season. Alongside Tyer, Natalia Brunetti came out on top in the 100 yard Butterfly with a 1:00.90, also solidifying her a top spot in the Middle Atlantic Conference. In addition to Tyer and Brunetti, five other Ducks (first-years Adriana Bertolotti, Amanda LaFrancois, Sydney Lanager, Rachel Merrifield, and Gabby Sokolik) made their collegiate debut.

Despite not having a senior class of swimmers this year, there is plenty of rising talent. Junior Heather Maclachlan said, “After losing seniors from last year […] it is super important that we have a big class of freshmen coming in that are all very strong swimmers.” Her sophomore teammate Emily Lynch also added that “We’re growing our team and we’re getting better […] I hope because of all the new [swimmers] we have on our team, we win MACs this year.” The women’s team was edged out by Messiah University last year at conferences but has its eyes on bringing a championship title back to Stevens this season.

The team also had many impressive second place finishes. First-year Bertolottli grabbed second place finishes in the 50 and 100 yard Breastroke, junior Jamie Juan placed second in the 50 yard Butterfly, and sophomore Kai Wong took second place in the 100 yard Backstroke. The women’s 200 yard Individual Medley (Wong, Bertolotti, Brunetti, Sokolik) and 400 yard Freestyle (Brunetti, Smith, Maclachlan, Reinhardt) relays also took second place.

The Ducks are back in the pool on November 5, for a two-day New York University Fall Invitational. The next week, they face Rowan University on November 11 at the DeBaun Aquatics Center for a dual meet matchup.