The women’s swim team lost their meet 180-110 to Vermont on Nov. 7. With only two schools in attendance, it was a close meet that ultimately saw Vermont pull ahead with the win.
Despite Vermont’s victory, the Maine women put in a strong showing that was reflected in numerous events. In the 100-yard butterfly, the Black Bears placed second, third and fourth, with second-year Emma Pontius finishing second overall with a time of 59.41. Pontius was the only Maine swimmer after the first place finisher to complete the race in under a minute. After her came second-year Victoria Kingston and fourth-year Taylor Sharp with times of 1:00.11 and 1:00.57 respectively.
Maine women also dominated the 200-yard individual medley (IM) with Black Bears taking the top three finishers. First-year Shayla-Rose Kleisinger placed first overall with a time of 2:12.29. She was followed by Pontius (2:14.21), and fourth-year Samantha Mathieu (2:17.53). In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Maine teams took the top three spots as well. The first team finished with an overall time of 1:39.59. The team consisted of second-year Emily Borger, second-year Juliana McDonald, third-year Tessa Lindsley and second-year Chloe Adams, and they finished a full five seconds before the second place team completed the race.
Kleisinger put in a strong overall performance. She finished second in the 1,000-yard freestyle, only three seconds behind the first place Vermont finisher at 10:40.92. She also took second place in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:12.85. Her final event was the 200-yard IM in which she took first place. Pontius also performed well across the board. In the 200-yard medley relay she was the third leg on the first Maine team. She came in second place in the 100-yard butterfly, and second in the 200-yard IM as well.
Despite the loss, Maine showed their aptitude and perseverance by placing highly in numerous events. There is no meet next week, but on Nov. 20 they will race at the University of Rhode Island (URI) Invitational.
