Women’s swimming trumps McDaniel 118-62
Photo courtesy of Gettysburg.edu. Sophomore Nicole Farina won the 100-butterfly versus McDaniel.
By Claire Healey, Staff Writer
The Gettysburg College women’s swim team competed against Centennial Conference opponent McDaniel this past Wednesday. The Lady Bullets (5-1, 3-1 CC) cruised to an easy victory, defeating the Green Terror 118-62.
Gettysburg was able to capture the top spot in every event including the two relays, with eight different swimmers netting individual titles. The Bullets came out strong with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay with the team of first-years Inayah Sherry and Paige Griesse, sophomore Savannah Llewellyn, and junior Caroline Moyer.
“I think the team swam incredibly this week because of the time and effort we have put into this season so far. We have really been pushing each other and motivating each other in practices,” said Moyer, who also won the 100-yard breaststroke. Moyer had a very strong season last year with a win in the 100 at the Centennial Conference championships.
Gettysburg’s first-years came up big against McDaniel capturing individual titles, as well as a second place finish. First, Lindsay Hayden captured the 200-yard freestyle. Immediately after, Johnna Hock won the 50-yard freestyle with sophomore Allie Mueller placing second. This was followed up by a victory in the 100-yard freestyle by Griesse.
Senior captain Lea Candelmo said, “Our team has always had a lot of depth and we definitely excel in that this year. We have a great competitive freshman class who love to get up and compete, just like the rest of us.”
Candelmo also had an outstanding meet with a dominating win in the 400-yard individual medley. She won by an impressive twelve seconds over junior Lizzy Butler and first-year Maggie Morehouse. She was also part of both Gettysburg “B” relays, which came in third and second respectively.
“We lost to the best team in the conference rightfully so, but I think it’s looking really good for the rest of the season. We’re a very competitive and determined team. We don’t like to lose and we carry that with us everywhere we go,” said Candelmo. The Bullets had a very competitive and strong showing against McDaniel.
Butler also competed in the 500-yard freestyle coming in 5th, with junior Nicolette Gibbons winning the event, and sophomore Kate Hegwood finishing as the runner up. Gibbons had placed second in the 200 earlier in the evening.
As well as finishing 1-2-3 in the 400 I.M., Gettysburg also finished 1-2-3 in the 100-yard butterfly. Leading the charge was sophomore Nicole Farina who captured the title over senior captain Sam Evangalista and Hock.
The Lady Bullets were also able to complete a 1-2 finish in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard freestyle. Llewellyn got the win in the backstroke with the second place finish going to Sherry. In the freestyle, Griesse came away with the win and senior captain Marie Gingher placed second.
For the final two events of the night, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard freestyle relay, Gettysburg went exhibition. Moyer’s first place finish, first-year Sadie Stiles and junior Kelly Palmer’s points were not counted despite their first, third, and seventh place finishes.
Gettysburg would have placed first, second, and fourth in the relay if their points were counted. The Gettysburg “A” team of Griesse, Sherry, Hock, and sophomore Allie Mueller had the fastest time of the event.
Candelmo was impressed with her team’s performance and said, “Overall the team swam very well for a Wednesday night. It’s not always easy getting up at night and racing, but everyone proved that wrong and swam some great races.”
The Lady Bullets will take a break from competition until Dec. 4 and 5 when they will host the Gettysburg Invitational at the Bullets Pool.
