By: Jimmy Brooks, News Correspondent

After almost two weeks off, the swimming & diving team returned to the pool and earned a second place finish in the Terrier Invitational, at Boston University. Along with the second place finish, three Huskies set five school records.

Head coach Roy Coates said he was satisfied with the effort his team put forward in the three-day meet, last weekend.

“I think the whole team fared unbelievably,” Coates said. “It was probably one of the best meets in school history. We ended up setting five school records and on personal records alone, there must have been 40 set over the weekend.”

Freshmen Dana Schlief and Colleen McCormack swam their way into the record books, each setting two records.

Schlief claimed first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.67, which was just four hundreths of a second better than previous record holder, Katie Schmaling.

Sophomores Nicole Colucci and Allison Walker touched the wall at 57.75 and 58.48 seconds, respectively. These times were good enough to earn Colucci a thrid place finish, and Walker a fifth place result.

Schlief struck again, this time in the 200-yard backstroke, with a time of 2:03.09. She finished a second faster than sophomore teammate Cassandra Cesaro, who previously set the record last season.

McCormack finished third in the 500-yard freestlye with a time of 4:59.06, but her time of 4:58.35 in the preliminaries was good enough for another school record.

She finished third in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 17:04.47, setting the Huskies fifth school record of the tournament.

Fatigue did not slow down any of the swimmers on the third day, either, Coates said, and he felt the three-day meet was good preparation for the CAA Championships, which take place at the end of the season.

“I think it’s more mentally strenuous than physical for the girls to be swimming for three days, to be honest,” Coates said. “This event was the same format as the CAA Championships, so it’s very important that the girls experienced what it’s like, pressure wise and format wise.”

Northeastern dominated the 100-breast stroke, as Freshman Julia Alvarez finished with a victory, touching the wall at 1:02.88. Sophomore Keary McClearnan claimed second place with a time of 1:04.86.

Alvarez set a school record in the 100-yard breaststroke, clocking in at 1:02.88. The record was previously held By Julia’s older sister, Elena, who held a time of 1:03.97. Elena swam for the Huskies from 2005-09.

“I was just really excited, I mean, it’s always exciting when you reach a personal best time,” Alvarez said. “I’m just really happy to do that for the school. I think any time you reach a personal best, it really shows the hard work you put in during practice.”

Sophomore Kelley Becherer posted personal bests and set two American Paralympic records for swimmers with a visual disability.

Becherer holds the 100-yard freestyle record with a time of 53.69, and the 200-yard individual medley (IM) with a time of 2:14.88.

In the Husky diving invitational, junior Rachel Peterson scored a 241.60 to win the 1-meter board diving event, and additionally scored a 263.05 to take the 3-meter board diving event.

Additionally, the Huskies were able to hold on to the second place standing they had gained by the end of the first day, overcoming any nerves that may have plagued some the squad’s swimmers, Alvarez said.

“I was definitely nervous going in,” Alvarez said. “Nerves are a good thing though, I don’t know about everyone else, but they help me go into races feeling focused. It was our first really big meet, so being nervous was natural.”

Coates said the swimmers were nervous going in, but were able to relax as the meet progressed.

“If there was a mental block for any of our girls, it was in place up until the first event,” Coates said. “Until the first race, you never know what to expect. Even though we were confident going in, after that first day you can start to breathe a sigh of relief and really enjoy [swimming] and focus on getting better.”

Junior Jill Kearns was able to place fist in the 200-yard IM, finishing at 2:05.89. Freshman Julia Sepulveda followed her up with a time of 2:06.09.

Northeastern also had three of the top four finishers in the 400-yard IM as freshman Julia Sepulveda turned in a time of 4:26.30 to place second. Julia’s twin sister, Adriana, was not far behind, placing third at 4:27.07. Kearns placed fourth with a time of 4:30.66.

The Huskies move to 3-3 on the season and 0-3 in CAA play, and return to the pool Saturday, Dec. 4 when they welcome UMass-Amherst to the Barletta Natatorium.