Decorating the banner!

2011-2012 Banner Revealed! Kim continues to perform magical feats! Excellent artistry Swimming & Diving team!

Olivia provides Mac with the appropriate glitter eye shadow prior to Sunday's meet.

Seniors Karen, Jenny, & Becca getting ready to be recognized

Head coaches line up with flowers

Seniors!!

Seniors Jenny Prince, Alex Page, Karen Fryefield, Becca Chazin (Carly Mailly and Rebecca Rosen not pictured) honored on Sunday

To watch video from the meet:   http://smithpioneers.com/sports/2012/1/17/WSWIM_0117124049.aspx

NORTHAMPTON, Mass.–Wellesley College set four records en route to a dominating first day of the 2012 Seven Sisters Swimming and Diving Championship on Saturday. The Blue won six of 13 events for 802 points, followed by Vassar with 553, Mount Holyoke with 435, Smith with 346 and Bryn Mawr College with 289.

Wellesley’s Keelin Nave set a new Seven Sisters Record in the 100 butterfly, finishing in 59.21, beating a 28 year old record held by Maureen McMahon of Smith, set in 1984.  The Blue’s 800 freestyle relay team of Annie Hamilton, Olivia Hulme, Stephanie Welch, and Nave set both a new meet and Dalton Pool record with a time of 8:08.95, smashing the five year old mark of 8:15.41 set by Wellesley.  In diving, Hayley Goydan set a new Seven Sisters mark with a score of 439.50 on the 1-meter board. Finally, the Blue also set a new pool record in the 400 medley relay with a mark of 4:10.89, beating a 16 year old record held by Springfield College in 1996.  Vassar’s Caroline Shannon also set a new Seven Sisters Record in the 200 yard IM.  Her finish of 2:14.58 bested a five year old mark of 2:15.69, set by Wellesley’s Jenny Wu in 2007.

Wellesley got a 1-2 finish from Nave (5:11.37) and Grace Bachman (5:26.49) in the 500 yard freestyle.  The Blue also picked up a win in the 400 yard medley relay, with Emma Mrkonic, Annie Hamilton, Nave, and Gates finished in 4:10.89, ahead of Vassar’s Olivia Harries, Caroline Shannon, Sydnie Alquist, and Robin Lam.   Hayley Goydan won the 1-meter diving, with an NCAA qualification score of 439.50, while Gabby Cooper-Vespa took third, scoring 368.85.  Emma Mrkonic finished first in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:02.20.

For Vassar, Alison Burns, Robin Lam, Lizzy Balter, and Shannon Sara captured third place in the 200 yard freestyle relay in 1:45.12.  Shannon also finished first in the 400 yard IM, turning in a dominating 4:45.01 time, and was part of the third placed 200 yard medley relay group with Balter, Lam, and Sydnie Alquist in 1:58.62.

The host Pioneers got a second place finish from Jenika Parson in the 1-meter dive. Parson scored 433.40, hitting the NCAA qualification score for the second consecutive meet.  Mackenzie Bradleyfinished third in the 500 yard freestyle, less than half a second out of second place in 5:26.95.  Alyssa Pascuzzo also posted a third place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:19.05.  Pascuzzo also posted a third place finish in the 100 fly, in 1:02.76.

Mount Holyoke got a thrilling with in the 200 yard freestyle relay, as the foursome of Lauren Williams, Rachel Boynton, Maya Lazarovich, and Lydia Bowers touched the wall in 1:44.05, just ahead of Wellesley’s Bachman, Megan Lambert, Monica Gates, and Maria Amirkhanashvili, who came in second in 1:44.37.  Bowers also posted a win in the 50 yard freestyle, finishing in 25.23, just ahead of teammate Williams, who came in 26.01.  The Lyons also took home top honors in the 200 yard medley relay, beating Wellesley in an extremely close finish.  Williams, Lazarovich, Bowers, and Joselyn Auxer won by .07 seconds, coming in 1:57.05.

Bowers added to Mount Holyoke’s total with a win in the 200 yard freestyle, finishing in 2:00.73, while Lazarovich (1:11.18) edged out Caroline Shannon of Vassar in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:11.52).

Bryn Mawr got a fourth place finish from Meredith Davis in the 50 yard freestyle, in 26.17, and the Owls also came in fourth in the 200 yard freestyle relay.  Davis joined up with Zoe Guastella, Kristina Xiang, and Judy Yueng to finish in 1:46.46.

Results

At the banquet, a new award was unveiled, to honor Marly Pineda ’08 (M.S. ’10), a former Smith swimmer and coach who passed away in 2010. The Marly Pineda Seven Sisters Swiming and Diving Award is given to the swimmer or diver who, over the course of her career at the Seven Sisters Championships, best exemplifies the dedication, passion, selflessness, sportsmanship, and spirit of a champion that defined Marly.  Each honoree will also be known for er positive attitude, comittment toward making everyone around her feel welcomed and supported, and her “never ever” give up spirit.  The 2012 award went to Smith College senior Jenny Prince.  The award was also backdated, given to members of the classes of 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 who had a chance to compete with and against Marly from each of the five schools.

Smith College will host the annual Seven Sisters Swimming & Diving meet this Saturday and Sunday, January 21st-22nd at the Dalton Pool.  Mount Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley, and Vassar will be in attendance. Come watch some excellent races and divers and show the swimmers and divers your support!

Here is the schedule of events: EVENT SCHEDULE SEVEN SISTERS 2012

Incase you are unable to attend, you can still cheer and watch from your computer:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/smithswimming

GO SMITH!

(picture taken from Seven Sisters @ Wellesley 2011)

Bold. Bright. Sparkly. 

Robin adds a little pizazz to her toes!

Alex expresses joy as she paints her toes while Olivia intensely focuses on painting her fingernails.

The finished product: glitter-icious nails

1/14/12 WELLESLEY, Mass.–Jenika Parson, Mackenzie Bradley, and Alyssa Pascuzzo all recorded wins as the Smith College swimming and diving team fell to Wellesley College 199-101 on Saturday afternoon.

Parson took first in the 3-meter diving competition, recording a score of 266.90, while taking second on the 1-meter board (273.10), just four points off the winner. Bradley won the 500-free in a time of 5:28.87, while recording second place finishes in the 200-fly (2:21.43) and the 1,000-free (11:12.01).  Pascuzzo won the 200 yard IM in 2:20.72, and was part of the 200 yard medley relay team that finished second in 2:02.10  She was joined by Alex Page, Victoria Wu, and Lauren Kauffman.

Wu racked up second place finishes in both breaststroke events, finishing the 100 in 1:16.44, and the 200 in 2:44.48, while Kauffman also had a strong day, taking second in the 50-free in 27.53, and third in the 100-free in 59.59.

Both teams are back in action at the Seven Sisters Swimming and Diving Championship, hosted by Smith on January 21-22.

Results

POST-RACE

The Pages generously hosted the Wild Bunch at their home on Saturday evening.  The Bezubka family joined the team as well.  The food was delicious and plentiful; having both Alex’s and Hayley’s families there as well was fantastic!   We hope that we can have more athletes and family team meals in the future. THANK YOU TO THE PAGES FOR HOSTING AND FEEDING US! AND THANK YOU BEZUBKAS FOR THE BROWNIES!

Upon the return of the rest of the bunch, the bananas discovered that all of their suits combined form…

A Banana Rainbow!

Wild Bunch Traditions:

During J Term, the Swimmers and Divers organize a variety of activities for the Wild Bunch such as: bag tags, team movies, puzzle night, sunshine cards, etc.

BAG TAGS:

Before the first meet of 2012 against Wellesley, the Wild Bunch took out their scissors, magazines, and creative minds, and designed their own bag tags.

THE FINAL PRODUCT:

PUZZLE NIGHT:  29 Puzzles total, 800 possible points.  Earn 250: Practice from 9-10am. Earn 400+: no morning practice.  Deadline: Call Kim by midnight

2 Mini Puzzles: 25 points each

23 detangler puzzles: 25 points each

One WORLD: 150 points

One Creepy Crawlers: 25 points

The pyramid/ fit the pieces in the box: 25 points each

TASK COMPLETE: 9:30PM Kim receives a call

Verdict: NO MORNING PRACTICE!!!

The puzzlers deserve a mental break! Post-puzzles:

On December 29^th, fourteen bananas: Jenny, Karen, T Rex, Becca, Carly, Alex, Mackenzie, Ariel, Victoria, Robin, Olivia, Kyle, Amanda, and Kim embarked on their training trip adventure down to the warm, sunny island of Puerto Rico.

Despite a few unexpected delays, everyone arrived safely, ready to train for the next eight days.

We trained twice a day, performing strength exercises after our first practice at Piscina Municipal de Victor Vassallo facility.  It was a few swimmers’ first time swimming in an 8-lane 50-meter pool, but after the first few days, they grew accustomed to the blue skies, fresh air, and longer distances.  It was an interesting challenge for our backstrokers who played a form of elongated pinball for the first couple practices.  The swimmers trained well, ate extremely well at the buffet brunches and dinners after 8-10 morning practice and 4-6 evening practice.  They enjoyed the private pools and beaches during off time: playing water volleyball, collecting shells, and body surfing/jumping the waves.

The only other team that was with us for the first few days (and last three days of 2011) was SUNY Potsdam.  Skidmore, Georgetown, RPI, and Seton Hall traveled down after the New Year.

The Hilton Christmas, Three Kings, and New Years decorations consisted of dozens of Christmas trees and sparkling lights covering the brunch and pool areas.

For the New Year celebration, the Hotel had two live bands for the guests to dance the night away into the New Year.

The Bananas dressed up and strutted their salsa and merengue stuff on the dance floor, making friends with the locals whiledancing into the New Year.  At the strike of midnight, as the fireworks were set off, the bananas toasted one another with sparkling cider.

On January 3^rd, after a 6-8-morning practice, the wild bunch ventured into Old San Juan for the afternoon.  Some explored El Moro while others walked around and looked for neat souvenirs to take home.  A few of us dined at a favorite local spot called Manolin where some ate Mofongo (friend plantains with seafood or meat inside) and drank passion fruit juice.  Toward the middle of the meal, a band of five men entered the restaurant and started playing a celebratory Three Kings song on the drums, trombone, tambourine, and vocals.

A bunch of bananas bought a large coconut, drinking the delicious coconut water from it.  Having established a strong relationship with “Fred” the coconut, the coconut became the mascot of the trip and followed the team back to Northampton.  He now resides on the guard table in the Dalton Pool, observing the swimmers and divers during practices.

A highlight of the trip was the reveal of Kim’s magical ability to eliminate all signs of fatigue with the swish and flick of his clipboard: “ Twang, you’re not tired.”

The bananas ended their training trip with a traditional jump of the high dives: 7.5 and 10 meters.  Below are the video clips from the last day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHvCO_Cj4fM&context=C37f1c37ADOEgsToPDskLdqGy2d0qNQjoBK17JFEHY

(Carly, Kyle, Olivia, Karen dives off 7M, Mac)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkb4ppu1ROg&feature=context&context=C37f1c37ADOEgsToPDskLdqGy2d0qNQjoBK17JFEHY

(Karen off the 3 M)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSnrBKU1ouY&feature=context&context=C37f1c37ADOEgsToPDskLdqGy2d0qNQjoBK17JFEHY

(Last day in Puerto Rico!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DMZAAaTe1UQ

(Karen off the 10 Meter)

The trip was a fantastic success: we trained efficiently, worked hard, had fun, deepened our tans, and created a plethora of memories.

Bradley led a Smith sweep of the top three places in the 1,650 yard freestyle, touching the wall in 18:24.64, followed by Kelsey Swensen in 19:43.55 and Christie came in third with a time of 19:55.19.

Bradley also came in second in the 500 freestyle, finishing in 5:23.70, and was joined by Lauren Kauffman, Victoria Wu, and Alyssa Pascuzzo in the 400 yard freestyle relay that came in third place in 4:01.62.

Ariel Orr took fourth place in the 50 yard breastroke in 34.57 an extremely close race, with less than two seconds separating first through fourth places. She teamed up with Pascuzzo, Kauffman, and Alexandra Page in the 400 yard medley relay that also placed fourth, coming in 4:26.89.  The same four came in fourth in the 200 yard medley relay in 2:01.20.

In another close race, Pascuzzo picked up a third place finish in the 100 yard butterfly in 1:03.88, less than a second out of second place and three seconds behind winner Keelin Nave of Wellesley.

Wellesley dominated the non-scoring meet, taking 15 of the 22 events. Mount Holyoke came away with six victories.

All three squads will return to action during the new year after month long layoffs. Wellesley (3-2) is slated to host Babson College and the Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday, January 11 at 4:00 p.m. Meanwhile, Mount Holyoke (3-1) will visit Clark University for a tri-meet with Wheaton College on Friday, January 13 at 1:00 p.m., and Smith (2-1) will host Wellesley the following afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

2011 Mount Holyoke Invitational “Iron Women”
1.     Tiffany Chen (Wellesley – 29:29.84)
2.     Maya Lazarovich (Mount Holyoke – 29:30.81)
3.     Virginia Hung (Wellesley – 29:53.16)
4.     Megan Lambert (Wellesley – 30:22.29)
5.     Annie Hamilton (Wellesley – 30:41.51)
6.     Rachel Boynton (Mount Holyoke – 30:46.49)
7.     Grace Bachman (Wellesley – 30:40.74)
8.     Paige Christie (Smith – 30:48.67)
9.     Karina Chung (Wellesley – 31:38.57)
10.   Allison Yee (Wellesley – 33:03.15)
11.   Isa Wismann-Horther (Mount Holyoke – 34:11.47)
12.   Victoria Gavin (Mount Holyoke – 34:12.61)
13.   Melanie Kaplan (Wellesley – 18:03.25)

Full Results

CONGRATULATIONS Paige!  Both Paige and Mackenzie Bradley (who complete the “Iron Woman” last year) have earned the bragging rights by completing this tedious feat! Any thoughts about the English Channel swim, Paige?

It was the 200 yard medley relay that started the meet off in thrilling fashion.  Smith’s ‘A’ team, made up of Emily Clark, Ariel Orr, Pascuzzo, and Lauren Kauffman won the race in 2:02.25, edging out Westfield State’s ‘A’ by .26 seconds.  Kauffman completed the anchor leg in a blistering 27.20 seconds to give Smith the win.

Bradley got the first of three wins in the 1,000 yard freestyle, touching the wall in 11:15.90, and added to that a win in the 200 yard fly in 2:21.02, and rounded out the day with a win the 500 yard freestyle in 5:31.60.

Pascuzzo captured the 200 yard freestyle in 2:05.45, followed by classmate Paige Christie in 2:08.99.   Pascuzzo also won the 100 yard fly with a time of 1:03.90, with Rebecca Rosen in second place in 1:09.65.

Parson scored a 266.35 in the 1-meter dive to post her highest score of the season.  Page’s first win came in the 100 yard backstroke, where she finished in 1:07.75, with teammate Robin Currens just behind in 1:08.68.  Page also scored a four second win in the 200 backstroke, finishing in 2:24.84.

Elyse Johnston and Lauren Kauffman went 2-3 in the 50 yard freestyle, racing neck-and-neck before Johnston touched the wall in 27.21, and Kauffman just a hair behind in 27.25.

Full Results

The Athletic Department created a video of the Westfield meet (click on link below).  The video features sections of our cheer, the medley relay, the 1000-yard freestyle, 100 backstroke, and the 1Meter and 3Meter Diving.  http://www.smithpioneers.com/index.aspx?path=wswim   (The video is in the bottom right hand corner of the webpage!)

Bradley captured the 200 freestyle, finishing in 2:06.64, and added to her night with another win in the 200 yard backstroke, which she finished in 2:25.28.  She was followed in the 200 back by Alex Page, who came in second in 2:26.62, and Sarah Tucker, who took third in 2:31.90.

Paige Christie led a sweep of the top three places in the 1,000 freestyle, winning in 11:43.06, followed by Kelsey Swensen (12:04.90) and Ayla Staelin-Lefsky (13:38.47).

Emily Clark and Ariel Orr went neck-and-neck in the 100 breastroke, with Clark winning by less than a second in 1:14.01, just ahead of Orr, who touched the wall in 1:14.90.  Alyssa Pascuzzo won the 100 fly in 1:05.87, and came in second in the 100 free, in 58.19, only .09 seconds behind Tessa Dudunake of Elms.  Pascuzzo also came in second in the 50 fly, in 29.41.

Karen Fryefield won the three meter dive with a score of 190.60, and Chloe Barnett came in second with a score of 130.40.  Jenika Parson won the one-meter dive with a score of 250.15.

Alex Page took second in the 100 back in 1:07.07, followed by teammates Victoria Wu(1:11.10) and Sarah Tucker (1:11.80).  Olivia Bannon added a second place finished in the 200 breaststroke, and Clark, Orr, Pascuzzo, and Lauren Kauffman came in second in the 200 yard medley relay in 2:01:16.

Elms was led by Dudunake, who won the 50 free in 26.58 in addition to winning the 100 free.  Ashley Kirchner win the 200 yard breastroke in 2:43.18, and Devon Degrazia won the 500 free in 5:35.07.  Degrazia and Dudunake were joined by Chalis Bird and Diana Borys in the winning 400 freestyle relay in 3:56.09, while Degrazia, Bird, Dudunake, and Kirchner won the 200 yard medley relay in 2:00.83.

Results