The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference

Meet of the Week Preview: Wheaton vs. MIT/Smith
By Jason Marsteller

PHOENIX, Arizona, December 6. THE final weekend of the fall Meet of the Week schedule takes place this weekend with Wright State taking on Tampa, and Wheaton competing against MIT and Smith. SwimmingWorldMagazine.com first checks out the Wheaton match-up.

Here is a quick preview of the contest:

Date and Time: Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 1 p.m.
Location: Norton, Mass.
Facility: Balfour Natatorium

Wheaton's Last Time Out:
Six top-three event finishes pushed the Wheaton College women's swimming and diving team to a third-place showing over Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 among six schools at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Invitational, as the two-day event came to a close in Zesiger Pool. The Lyon men placed sixth during the weekend competition.

Wheaton's women's squad totaled 558.5 points, edging out fourth-place Bowdoin College by 0.50 points. The Blue and White men had 216 points, falling 23.5 short of Bowdoin for fifth. MIT won both the men's and women's meets with 1,082.5 and 910.5 points, respectively.

Looking forward with Wheaton head coach Jean-Paul Gowdy:
On the women's meet:
It should be a really close meet. The teams match up really well in terms of strengths, and then there are some events where we should score well versus some events they'll score well. MIT swam exceptionally well last weekend at its invite, but I believe our women will be ready for them this weekend, especially considering the meet is at our pool. Are we underdogs? Sure, but we were definitely underdogs last year when we beat them. In my opinion, whichever team is the most successful in stepping up and racing will be the most successful this weekend.

On the men's meet:
We are certainly in a rebuilding year this season after losing our All-American sprinter. MIT, on the other hand, has its best team I've ever seen and certainly has the ingredients of a top-10 team in the country. I believe we are a little overmatched this weekend, but we certainly plan on winning a few events and giving them races in many others.

MIT's Last Time Out:
Proving that it is a force to be reckoned with on the national stage, MIT's 15th-ranked men's swimming and diving team won 17 of 18 swimming events en route to a first-place finish at the MIT Invitational. The Engineers won the event with a final team score of 1082.5, beating out Tufts University, which finished with 1046.5.

For the women, freshman Amy Jacobi's remarkable rookie campaign continued as she contributed to three Engineers relay victories and added two individual triumphs to lead No. 19 MIT to a first-place finish. The Cardinal and Gray won the event with a final team score of 910.50, comfortably ahead of second-place finisher Tufts University, which concluded the competition with a tally of 783.

Looking forward with MIT's head coach Dawn Gerken:
This weekend's meet looks like it just might come down to the last relay again. I've done about five different versions of our women's line-up and I'm sure Coach Gowdy has as well. I think that depth will play a huge role in the outcome, which is what college swimming is all about. Both teams have trained hard this first semester and it should be an exciting afternoon of racing!

Smith's Last Time Out:
Marly Pineda and Lily Seidman both took first place in five individual events propelling Smith to a victory at the Pioneer Valley Invitational this afternoon.

Shant Freitas finished first in the 1 meter diving event with a score of 427.90 and the 3 meter with a score of 451.10. Smith finished first in the 200 freestyle relay at a time of 1:59.83. Swimming for Smith were Franscesca Kotey, Christine Dzialo, Pineda, and Seidman. Pineda took first in the 400 yard freestyle at 4:46.74, the 200 IM at a time of 2:37.58, the 200 breaststroke at 2:59.61, and the 100 yard butterfly at a time of 2:23.63. Seidman placed first in the 50 yard butterfly at a time of 30.16, the 50 freestyle at 28.70, the 200 yard butterfly at 2:30.71, the 400 IM at 5:26.15, and the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 1:02.57. The Pioneers also placed first in the 400 yard freestyle relay at a time of 4:33.98 with Rachel Dorset, Abigail Carr, Pineda, and Seidman swimming.

Looking forward with Smith's head coach Kim Bierwirt:
I am expecting a good meet and spirited among the three teams. Our team has been training well and I feel we will be focused on achieving season and lifetime best times in our swimming events and best performances in the diving events. We will have our opportunities to challenge for event wins and I expect our swimmers and divers to have the chance win 3-5 events outright.

Top 2007-08 Times Comparison:
Men:
50 Free
WC: 22.49, Matt Jordan
MIT: 21.44, Laurent Charpentier
100 Free
WC: 48.97, Matt Jordan
MIT: 46.37, Laurent Charpentier
200 Free
WC: 1:53.67, Eddie Gillie
MIT: 1:42.93, Laurent Charpentier
500 Free
WC: 5:02.59, Eddie Gillie
MIT: 4:42.53, Michael Dobson
1000 Free
WC: 10:38.11, Eddie Gillie
MIT: 10:03.27, Michael Dobson
1650 Free
WC: 18:31.18, Sam Dean-Lee
MIT: 16:32.47, Michael Dobson
100 Back
WC: 54.59, Matt Jordan
MIT: 53.80, Jeff Zhou
200 Back
WC: 2:11.27, Matt Jordan
MIT: 2:07.87, Harrison Hall
100 Breast
WC: 1:04.96, Matt Hurley
MIT: 57.45, Rastislav Racz
200 Breast
WC: 2:23.80, Eddie Gillie
MIT: 2:09.19, Rastislav Racz
100 Fly
WC: 55.51, Matt Jordan
MIT: 52.67, Thomas Sepp
200 Fly
WC: 2:08.57, Eddie Gillie
MIT: 2:00.81, Deke Hu
200 IM
WC: 2:08.26, Matt Hurley
MIT: 2:01.34, Kalvin Kao
400 IM
WC: 4:39.72, Eddie Gillie
MIT: 4:17.67, Kalvin Kao
200 Free Relay
WC: 1:31.91
MIT: 1:25.62
400 Free Relay
WC: 3:29.13
MIT: 3:09.91
800 Free Relay
WC: 7:50.63
MIT: 7:10.39
200 Medley Relay
WC: 1:42.05
MIT: 1:34.61
400 Medley Relay
WC: 3:47.46
MIT: 3:31.09
1M Diving
WC: 129.45, Jon Gold
MIT: 330.20, Carson Darling
3M Diving
WC: N/A
MIT: 337.95, Carson Darling

Women:
50 Free
WC: 24.83, Abby Pratt
MIT: 24.64, Amy Jacobi
SC: 25.56, Francesca Kotey
100 Free
WC: 54.50, Abby Pratt
MIT: 53.49, Amy Jacobi
SC: 54.72, Lily Seidman
200 Free
WC: 2:01.15, Dania Piscetta
MIT: 1:57.16, Amy Jacobi
SC: 2:01.15, Lily Seidman
500 Free
WC: 5:31.18, Sarah Houlihan
MIT: 5:14.01, Amy Jacobi
SC: 5:24.05, Marly Pineda
1000 Free
WC: 11:19.91, Sarah Houlihan
MIT: 10:48.76, Nicole O'Keefe
SC: 11:09.72, Marly Pineda
1650 Free
WC: 19:08.00, Sarah Houlihan
MIT: 18:06.70, Nicole O'Keefe
SC: N/A
100 Back
WC: 1:02.51, Abby Pratt
MIT: 1:03.85, Jen Chao
SC: 1:06.24, Lily Seidman
200 Back
WC: 2:18.43, Iris Meehan
MIT: 2:19.04, Jen Chao
SC: 2:15.83, Lily Seidman
100 Breast
WC: 1:10.61, Emily Sweatt
MIT: 1:12.20, Ariadne Smith
SC: 1:17.31, Reyna Levine
200 Breast
WC: 2:34.17, Steph Perkins
MIT: 2:36.09, Ariadne Smith
SC: 2:41.81, Marly Pineda
100 Fly
WC: 1:01.38, Dania Piscetta
MIT: 59.44, Amy Jacobi
SC: 1:00.73, Lily Seidman
200 Fly
WC: 2:21.38, Dania Piscetta
MIT: 2:17.24, Jen Chao
SC: 2:15.60, Marly Pineda
200 IM
WC: 2:21.73, Mandy Cumings
MIT: 2:17.37, Jen Chao
SC: 2:21.61, Lily Seidman
400 IM
WC: 4:59.29, Steph Conelias
MIT: 4:49.59, Nicole O'Keefe
SC: 4:53.83, Lily Seidman
200 Free Relay
WC: 1:42.08
MIT: 1:40.46
SC: 1:47.95
400 Free Relay
WC: 3:44.17
MIT: 3:41.51
SC: 3:51.08
800 Free Relay
WC: 8:25.60
MIT: 8:03.09
SC: N/A
200 Medley Relay
WC: 1:53.95
MIT: 1:53.74
SC: 2:01.28
400 Medley Relay
WC: 4:07.72
MIT: 4:09.98
SC: 4:43.98
1M Diving
WC: 262.05, Laura Fleck
MIT: 475.05, Doria Holbrook
SC: 265.35, Shanti Freitas
3M Diving
WC: 186.67, Emma Chaiken
MIT: 504.90, Doria Holbrook
SC: 291.20, Shanti Freitas

* - denotes meter conversion

Original story can be found at http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/16430.asp

Swimming World Magazine Features Swimming and Diving Meet Involving Three NEWMAC Institutions