The Observer, February 18, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 18
Swimmers have strong showing at UAA championships
For most Case swimmers, the UAA conference meet is the only meet that counts. All the preceding meets, all the grueling hours on deck waiting to race, and all the agony in the water during countless races were just practice for this past weekend. With their bodies shaved and goggles tied tight, both the men's and women's squads stepped up to the block and performed exceptionally well.
"The women were basically lights-out the entire meet and overachieved to an incredible level," said coach Chris Conlon.
After three days and six swimming sessions, they pulled out a fifth-place finish, besting Rochester by a mere two points. It was an improvement from last year's sixth-place finish and solidly puts the Case women in the middle of the UAA pack.
While all the girls had amazing races, a few individuals and races stood out. One of them was senior Elaine Hillenmeyer, who once again stepped up to the challenge. She took fourth in the 100 butterfly with an impressive time of 0:59.11. More impressive was her performance in the 50 free, in which her goal was a national cut. On the morning of the first day, she swam a 24.49, which gave her a B cut. That night she came back and took second with a 24.63.
Junior Hannah Webber, who came back from a co-op during winter semester, also performed beyond expectations, placing in the top 16 in three events. She took 16th in the 500 free, finishing in 5:17.06. In the 100 backstroke, she placed eighth with a 1:02.5. Then in the 200 backstroke, with a four-second drop from prelims, she swam a blazing 2:11.02, earning fourth place.
As swiftly as Webber swam, freshman Caitlin Gruenhagen kept up with her while having one of the best meets on the women's side. In the 100 backstroke, she placed sixth with a 1:01.03, just edging Webber. In the 200 backstroke, she placed eighth with a speedy 2:15.57.
The women's relays also played a part in their success. In the 200 freestyle, the sprinters, Hillenmeyer, Webber, Elaine Hou, and Becca Winarski placed third with a 1:41.89. But the highlight was the 400 free relay team's performance by the same group of girls. Going into the event, the last event of the meet, they were trailing Rochester 294-284. But in true Spartan fashion, they came back to best Rochester by 0.08 seconds, taking third and helping to win the meet.
The men also swam valiantly, taking seventh among stiff competition.
"The score reflected a lack of depth, but there was definitely no lacking in effort or quality of swimming," Conlon said. Like the women, all the men swam exceptionally well, but a few swimmers shined brightest.
Senior John Keltz proved a formidable opponent in any length of breaststroke. In the 200 breast, he placed third with 2:09.42. His prelim time of 2:08.56 qualified him for a B national cut. In the 100 breast, Keltz destroyed yet another B national cut with a 58.26, placing him second. The other breaststrokers–senior Andrew Detwiler, sophomore Mat Sladewski, and freshman Drew Kouri–also swam incredibly fast. All placed within the top 16 in both the 100 and 200.
Like Hillenmeyer, sophomore John Erickson also achieved his goal of getting a national cut. In the 50 free, he finished with a 21.01, guaranteeing him a spot at the men's Division III national meet. The time also broke the pool record by 0.5 seconds and the 14-year-old Case varsity record by 0.15 seconds.
The men's 200 medley relay also did well, placing third. The team of Bobby Malinoski, John Keltz, Eric Frohmader, and John Erickson's 1:35.23 destroyed the Case varsity record by over 0.7 seconds.
This coming week the Spartan swimmers host the Veale Invitational, also known as the Last Chance Meet. The meet is formatted like a typical three-day meet except it is crunched into one day, with each day separated by a series of time trials. Swimmers come from all over, some individually and some with their entire team, to make one last attempt at national cuts. No scores are kept, lane and heat assignments are meaningless, and if you fail once, there are time trials to try again. Case swimmers will seek to break personal records, varsity records, achieve personal goals, or dabble in events they never swim competitively. The meet is this Saturday at 11 a.m. and will be the last time to support the swimmers during regular season.
