The Tufts men’s and women’s swim and dive teams took to the water on Friday and Saturday at Boston University.
In a slightly different format, the teams competed without a total team score, but rather to serve as an opportunity for individual athletes to display some fast times and possibly even personal bests in their events.
In the unofficial start to their championship season, both the women and the men faced off against Division I swimmers from Northeastern, Cornell and a plethora of other schools.
The highlight of Friday’s events was first-year Angelina Sagaow, who won the 200 individual medley race out of 18 competitors with a personal best time of 2:06.26. Her first-year teammates Clara Behling and Sophia Knight also finished inside the top 10 in the event.
When asked about what guided her to victory in an event against Division I athletes, Sagaow responded, “staying calm and remembering I’m swimming for the team [that] allowed me to execute my swims,” in an email to the Daily. Her mental strength and determination made for an outstanding performance, especially from a first-year.
Among the swimmers who hit personal bests were first-year Allie Brown with a 5:05.99 in the 500 freestyle and sophomore Alexia Palko-Lacerda with a 24.87 in the 50 freestyle.
Four divers competed over the weekend, and on Friday they took spots six to nine in the rankings for the day. In sixth place was first-year Lucy Karp, followed by sophomore Arya Gupta, senior Nika Renshaw and first-year Riley Metz.
The men’s teams also finished the first day with some impressive times. First-year Ryan Manson recorded a personal best in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:41.93. Sophomore Joshua Harrison also had a personal best alongside his teammate, first-year Sam Harris, in the 50 freestyle. Harrison’s time was 21.53 and Harris’ was 21.60. Senior Alex Gu was the highest-ranking Jumbo in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.39 in the event.
Later in the day, Harrison improved on his personal best in a time trial 50 freestyle, recording a 21.30-second finish.
“Adrenaline is a big part of how I raced,” Harrison wrote in an email to the Daily, and that adrenaline pushed him to plenty of personal records over the weekend.
There was plenty left in the tank for these athletes, and after a night’s rest they returned to the pool for another chance to slice the water.
The women’s first-year class turned up throughout the day, putting down personal bests left and right. Sweeney Su started off her Saturday with a personal best time of 1:53.48 in the 200 freestyle, finishing fifth overall in the event. Alya Hocaoglu also had a personal best during the 200 medley relay, achieving a personal record in the 50 backstroke portion of the event, posting a 28.45. Su set a personal record of 1:53.48 in the 200 freestyle, and Alli Brown had one of her own in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 17:48.06.
The men’s squad came to play as well, stacking on more personal bests on Saturday.
Harris set another personal best in the freestyle stroke, this time in the 200, while Harrison had an additional personal record of his own later that day in the 100 freestyle. Sophomore Evan Wang set his personal record in the 200 breaststroke, finishing fourth overall in the event.
“I think it was a great opportunity to showcase the hard work we’ve been putting into the season,” Sagaow wrote. She reflected further on her first season as a Jumbo, and how consistent improvement has been a key marker for her throughout the year.
“I was very hyped to swim,” Harrison wrote.
Many of the Tufts swimmers at BU over the weekend were underclassmen. Some of the top performers at the meet may be selected to join the NESCAC championships roster, adding to the incentive to swim fast in some of the final opportunities in the water of the academic year.
Giving high praises to both teams, Harrison wrote: “The next step is focusing in on our conference championship meets,” referring to the upcoming NESCAC championships. Harrison noted that both teams look incredibly strong, aspiring to one day fill the shoes of the seniors competing in their final season as Jumbo swimmers.
The NESCAC championships will be held today and tomorrow for the women, and on Feb. 20 and 21 for the men. Harrison and Sagaow seem to share a sentiment that the Jumbos have a real shot at success at the upcoming meet.
The Jumbos will keep pushing for speed and new records in the coming weeks, with hours of training finally showing up on the big stage.
