The Jumbos entered Thanksgiving break on a positive note after besting Middlebury College in their first dual event of the season. The Jumbos won the Nov. 20 meet, which took place in Hamilton Pool, by an aggregate score of 156-144. With the Jumbos holding on to a narrow three-point lead and just the 400-yard freestyle relay remaining, senior tri-captain Sophia Lin, first-year Hannah Truslow, sophomore Alexandra Good, and sophomore Colleen Doolan swam to first place, setting a pool record of 3:40.81. They secured the Jumbos' first dual meet victory against the Panthers since 2008.
“The entire meet, we knew we had a chance to win and that our team's success depended on the outcome [of] every race, whether it be for first or fifth,” Doolan told the Daily in an email. “When it came down to the last race, Alex [Good], Sophia [Lin], Hannah [Truslow] and I were all very nervous but excited at the possibility of winning this one for our team. Immediately after the race, we all were hugging and received a very excited congratulations from our captains.”
Doolan who received an All-American honorable mention and an All-NESCAC team selection as a first-year last season, took first place overall in the 100-yard butterfly (59.60) and finished third overall in the 50-yard butterfly (27.63).
Six other Jumbos finished first in their events. Senior tri-captain Amanda Gottschalk, who was one of two Tufts swimmers invited to last year's NCAA championships, placed first in the 200-yard individual medley. She also finished second in both the 50-and 100-yard breaststroke races. Lin swam to first place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.06 and finished second in the 100-yard freestyle (55.51), missing out on first by just 0.12.
First-year Grace Goetcheus finished a full two seconds ahead of second place in the 100-yard backstroke.Goetcheus, Gottschalk, Doolan and Lin made up the 400-medley relay 'A' team, which posted a second place finish in 4:02.53.
Truslow took first place in the 500-yard freestyle and finished second in the 200-yard freestyle. First-year Olivia Leone was right behind Truslow in the 200, as she placed third.
Talking about the impact the first-year class has already had on his team this season, coach Adam Hoyt only had praise for his first-years.
“Our first-year women swam great," Hoyt said. "The freshmen have made an immediate impact on our team this year, and hopefully they continue ... to continue to impact the team in competition, certainly in training and also with team camaraderie."
On the diving side, senior Kylie Reiman took first place in the three-meter dive with 255 points. On the one-meter dive she accumulated 235.27 points and was just over one point shy of sweeping the two diving events. According to Reiman, her best dives were the ones she often struggles with in practice.
“The dives I felt I performed best were my reverse dives," Reiman told the Daily in an email. "They are a blind landing for me so I tend to second guess myself on them. I usually struggle with them in practice, but during the meet they ended up being my highest scoring dives."
The team could not have started its season on a better note, but Hoyt was cautious to attribute too much importance to the win.
“Our first meet got us off to a great start, but there's still a lot of work to be done," he said. "In our sport, working towards the championship is the most important thing. It's going to happen over time and we can't just sit back and think that because our first meet went well that the rest of the season will go well. The most important thing for us right now is to keep our women focused, happy and healthy so we can continue to improve moving forward.”
The Jumbos will head to Cambridge for their second meet of the year when they compete in the MIT Invitational this weekend.
Tufts outlasts Middlebury in season opener
