The Observer, November 16, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 11
Spartan swimmers start season off strong at home
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This weekend, Case hosted the Veale Classic, in which swimmers from Oberlin College and Wooster College came to compete against the Spartan swim team. The meet was highlighted from several excellent performances by Case athletes. The Spartan swimmers won the Classic, with the men's team defeating Oberlin but losing to Wooster in some very close matches, while the women's team defeated both Oberlin and Wooster. Both competing teams were formidable opponents and they are each looking to do very well this season. The past few years the women's team has been trading wins with Oberlin while they have not been competitive against Wooster at all. Thus, the women's victory over Wooster at the meet offered a significant boost to the team's confidence, which they hope to use as motivation to continue winning as the season goes on. On the men's side, the team has beaten Oberlin the last four years while they have been dead even against Wooster over the last three meetings.
The women's overall performance at the meet was phenomenal. "It was undoubtedly the best college dual meet I have been a part of in terms of the level of excitement and how much the team rose to face the challenge. They were not to be denied the win," said Coach Chris Conlon. One exceptional performance on the women's team was that of Kelsey Zeller. She had four individual wins and led the way for the rest of the team. Emma Call won the 400 IM and 200 butterfly back-to-back, an astounding feat by any competitive swimmer's standards. Ellen Crummy's 200-meter backstroke against Wooster was a performance that really stuck out. She managed to drop almost five seconds off her best time to win her first collegiate event.
One of the high points of the meet from the women's side took place towards the very end of the competition. With only two events left to go in the Oberlin meet, the women's team was up by just a single point. In the last individual event, the 100- meter breaststroke, the lady Spartans took first, second, third, and fourth place, while in the last event, the 200 freestyle, they took first and second place, securing a strong victory and closing out the meet with some encouraging performances. "Our women's teams swam great. We have a young team that is just starting to show what it can do, and it's awesome to see so many freshmen stepping it up and winning events," said Lindsey Stahl.
The men's performance was not one to be overlooked either. Against Oberlin, the team had a chance to try out some events that they don't normally get to swim and improve on the tactical approach to their races. Although the Wooster meet ended in a defeat, in terms of the swimmers time-drops in their individual events, it was still a success. Kevin Alland of the men's team won four individual events over the weekend, and John Somerville rose up to win the 200 breaststroke, marking his first individual collegiate victory. Ed McKee set the pool on fire, winning two distance events.
Things are looking good for the swimmers as they head into the rest of the season. The team plans to work on sharpening their starts and especially their turns, which were a little sloppy over the course of the meet. On the positive side, both teams clearly demonstrated that they are incorporating all of the technical aspects they have been working on in practice into their racing. "Our team is really maturing and I am excited about how good the team is becoming. I was very pleased with how they did. We are setting up for a fantastic season," said Conlon.
