Belles confident for championship, despite close losses
By NOREEN GILLESPIE
Saint Mary's Editor
When freshman Megan Harris touched the wall one-hundredth of a second after her DePauw competitor in the 500 freestyle Saturday afternoon, her swim was mirrored the rest of the meet: all too close.
It took 40 minutes to completely tabulate the final score — a loss for the Saint Mary's swimming and diving team. Walking away from the score table, head coach Gretchen Hildebrandt was somewhat disappointed.
"I thought we had beaten DePauw," she said. "But it's hard to be upset when these women are swimming so well."
Dropping their final dual meet of the season, 64-39, to MIAA force Kalamazoo and non-league DePauw Saturday, the Saint Mary's swimmers and divers finished their season 2-7. It is an improvement over last year's record but slightly short of the team's season goal of .500.
"We're swimming strong teams," said first year coach Gretchen Hildebrandt. "In terms of points, this was not a winning season. But I can't believe that any of the other teams out there have posted personal bests every meet, and has every swimmer swimming to their potential."
Breaking records three times during the dual meet season and holding a diver on their roster for the first time in three years, the season marked several beginnings that could lead to hard-earned benefits, noted Hildebrandt.
"This program has grown leaps and bounds from where it was," she said. "It's hard keeping up with the other programs that are growing at the same pace, but we are swimming phenomenally."
Not unlike previous losses, Saturday's defeat was close. Off the boards, freshman diver Jani Kesteloot's third-place finish in the 1-meter competition grabbed solid points for Saint Mary's, easing the deficit from 24 points lost in the 3-meter competition.
"We're lucky to have [Kesteloot]," Hildebrandt said. "She doesn't have the experience in the 3 meter yet, but she scores big points for us."
In the pool, the swimmers pulled out the close races and popped some surprise finishes to put the meet within reach. The medley relay of Alicia Lesneskie, Michelle Samreta, Lane Herrington and Colleen Sullivan finished first in 1 minute, 58.86 seconds, five-tenths short of the door of the school record.
Olivia Smith grabbed second in the 1000 freestyle, posting a season-best time of 11:36.07, followed by Sullivan's first-place 200-freestyle finish in a season-best personal time.
Lauren Smith added another second place in the 200 individual medley, and Herrington added third place 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke finishes. Co-captain Samreta wrapped up the meet, winning the 100 breastroke in her last collegiate dual meet.
But even with solid finishes, close wasn't enough.
"It's not over yet," said Hildebrandt, who will lead the women with a home advantage at the MIAA conference championships at Rolfs Aquatic Center Feb. 10-12. That meet will mark the first MIAA championship hosted by Saint Mary's since its acceptance into the MIAA in the summer of 1999.
"They're ready to swim fast," said Hildebrandt. "Mentally, they're confident in their abilities, and they're waiting to see what they're capable of."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, January 25, 2000
