Sports |

Swimming and diving: Women’s team splits three-team meet

Men's squad drops decision to Keene State

Photos by Peter Buehner, The Maine Campus

Grace Barnett competes in the 1,000-meter freestyle race. The Black Bear women’s swimming defeated Keene State but fell to Vermont.

By Laila Sholtz-Ames

Posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009, 12:34 am

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Samantha Graham dives into the pool during Saturday’s meet at Wallace Pool. Graham won both the one-meter and three-meter diving events.

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Last weekend, the University of Maine swimming and diving team traveled to Stony Brook in hopes of winning against their American East Rival. Instead, both the men’s and women’s teams lost for the third time in a row, dropping to 1-3 on the season. Despite the setback, the Black Bears were back in action Saturday when they hosted Vermont and Keene State in a home meet. The Black Bear men’s team lost their meet to Keene State, 162-126 while the women split their meet picking up a win against Keene State, 178-117 while dropping a decision to Vermont, 158-130.

The Catamounts, who came into Maine 4-2 on the season and 1-2 in conference play, gave the Black Bears all they could handle. The Keene State Owls, who came in undefeated on the season, were hoping to ride their win streak but were no match for the Black Bears’ speed. The women were led in the pool by Alicia Hahn, who beat out 10 other swimmers to take the victory in the 200 backstroke event. The team also received a lift from Samantha Graham, who dominated the diving board, sweeping both events for the Black Bears. Graham won the one-meter event and took home the three-meter event.

Jamison Young, a senior on the relay team, credits the team’s success to hard work and dedication.

“We’ve been working really hard in the pool and it’s showing in our meets. We’ve had some amazing races and the team has come together as a whole to support each other, and with a meet this weekend and the three-day BU invitational in a week, we are looking to see even more time drops,” he said.

“We’ve had a great season so far, and one reason for that is our coach, Susan Lizzotte, has done a great job with training the team and motivating us. Also, our new assistant coach, Brad, is a great addition to UMaine swimming.”

The Black Bears, despite their early season losses are very optimistic about their upcoming swim meets. With depth on both the women’s and men’s side of the pool, senior Megan Mclean feels the hard work will pay off in the next few weeks.

“We are all training tough now during our mid season and our practices are challenging and are keeping everyone in shape. We work hard in the weight room to get more success in the pool,” McLean said. “As far as the upcoming season, I hope we continue to do well and swim each team with the same intensity as we have been.”

Next weekend, the teams will travel to Boston to take part in the three-day BU Invitational from Friday to Sunday.