Belles surprised by recent splash into record book
By NOREEN GILLESPIE
Saint Mary's Editor
Record-breaking swims are generally the exception rather than the rule for Saint Mary's swim team.
After a series of dual meets over winter break, the women are not only rewriting the record book, but proving they know how to break the rules.
Returning from 10 days of grueling training in Cocoa Beach, Fla., freshman Lauren Smith re-set her own record in the 200 breastroke against Calvin College last week, lowering the mark to 2:36.15.
Smith's swim, and a number of season and lifetime bests posted by the team at the peak of their training regime, caught first-year coach Gretchen Hildebrandt by surprise.
"I don't know why it's happening, but I'm not complaining," Hildebrandt said. "[Smith] knew that her times hadn't been where they should be for the past few meets, and mentally she was ready for this one. She was tired and worn down — this was a total mental swim."
The peak training period over winter break generally produces some of the slower swims of the season, due to the athletes' fatigue from training two to three times daily.
But Smith's swim was not the only surprise, as her teammates Alicia Lesneskie, Michelle Samreta, Lane Herrington, and Colleen Sullivan posted a record-breaking swim in the 400 medley relay against Calvin, resetting the three-year-old mark at 4:22.11.
"They're posting awesome times," Hildebrandt said. "It's proof that their training is working — they're swimming fast times at practice, and coming back and swimming faster in the meets."
The women kept the pace against Hope College Tuesday night, putting pressure on the No. 1 team in the MIAA.
"We wanted to show them that we're tough," Hildebrandt said. "Looking at their times, I knew that we could get second and third in almost every event. We wanted to give them good competition."
Saint Mary's dropped the meet 120-98, but continued to improve individual performances, securing several lifetime best times.
Freshman Meghan Harris swam past the 6:00 barrier in the 500 freestyle, securing third place and surpassing her lifetime goal in the event. Solid performances also came from Alicia Lesneskie and Olivia Smith, who finished 1-2 in the event.
Olivia Smith also posted a season best in the 1,000 freestyle, finishing in first place in 11:37.40. Lori Schulte cut her time in the 100 backstroke, and Erin McCarthy secured a new best time in the 200 individual medley.
Again, the exception became the rule.
While Saint Mary's currently stands at 2-5 on its season, continual strong individual performances give the team reason to believe that the MIAA championship — swum on home turf at Rolfs Aquatic Center — could bring blessings and hard earned results to the team.
But they are not there yet.
Closing their dual meet competition this weekend at home against DePaw and Kalamazoo, the Belles face tough MIAA competition from Kalamazoo, and will have to step up to defeat DePaw.
Furthermore, the absence of sophomore sprinter Danielle Clayton from a back injury leaves some uncertainty in the lineup until she returns. Clayton is anticipated to compete Saturday, dependent upon practice performance this week.
"If we're on Saturday, we can beat DePaw," Hildebrandt said. "But we're not resting for this. We're training hard this week."
The odds are against them point-wise, but if the team follows its past few performances, it could make another exception the rule — again.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, January 20, 2000
