Swim Team Finishes Ninth in ECAC’s

By Maxime Devillaz
Assistant Sports Editor

Coming straight from a Conference Championship win, the women’s swim team entered the ECAC Championships with only half a roster, facing some tough opponents at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, M.D., during the weekend of Feb. 28 to March 2.

“We have seven girls going down to Navy this weekend, with the meets being another chance for us to swim fast and race different teams,” said senior Chelcee Hew.

The Pioneers started off well on Friday, Feb. 28, by reaching the A finals twice, both times in team events. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, four Pioneers teamed up and made their way through to the finals where they marked a time of 1:40:31, and hit the wall as team number six. Continuously, in the doubled-up medley relay, the green and gold swam home in seventh place by finishing at a time of 4:06:55.

Day two in the pool ended in a new pair of top-eight finishes, once again recorded in team relays. First, the senior relay squad, along with sophomore Kat Kabaza, took on the 800-yard medley and finished sixth, after a time of 7:55:75. The Pioneers clocked in eighth-place in the 200-yard medley relay, giving the team some extra fresh points to add on to their total count.

During the wrap-up of the Championships on Sunday, March 2, the Pioneers did not record any new A finals, but held on to a ninth-spot in the overall meet. The total score was counted to 98 points for Post, which was considered a good championship, according to two of the Pioneer contestants. “Our team goal was to have fun and enjoy our last meet together, and individually, I just wanted to have fun and race well in my last meet of my swimming career,” Hew said. Fellow teammate sophomore Kirsty Elliot agreed, saying, “Our aim for the meet was to enjoy ourselves and get a chance to go up against some big schools.”

While some of the girls have made their last performance as Pioneers, the other half of the squad will be heading to Nationals in a week. The four-day meet will take place in Geneva, Ohio, where the green machine is looking to swim home the trophy for the second time in a row.