In their first CAA meet of the season, the Northeastern swimming and diving team lost 137-162 to James Madison University, JMU, who finished second in the conference championships last season.
The Huskies were competitive throughout the meet, but JMU’s talented diving team and overall depth gave them the slight edge.
Head coach Roy Coates said he was pleased with how the team fared against such a strong program.
“We performed great,” Coates said. “The fact that we were as competitive as we were with them was a good sign for our team.”
The meet was filled with bright spots for the Huskies, who dominated the relays, winning both the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Second-year Megan Clark, who was an integral part of both relay teams as a freestyler, noted that the success of the relay team shows the team’s strength as a whole.
“We have a lot more depth as a team now,” Clark said. “I’m really proud of the relay teams.”
In terms of individual scoring, the Huskies were led by first-year Matilda Weiler, from Sweden, who finished with 15 points while swimming in four events.
Weiler, who pointed out that she is still adjusting to American-style college swim meets, surprised herself with her high scoring performance against JMU.
“It was a lot of fun,” Weiler said. “I didn’t really know what to expect with it being my first away meet.”
First-year swimmers Klara Juliusson and Cloe Bedard-Khalid also contributed majorly to the scoring, finishing first in 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard butterfly, respectively.
The rookie class as a whole had an incredible performance against JMU and accounted for eight out of the team’s 22 point scorers.
Clark pointed out that the team’s additions are pushing the program to be taken more seriously as a contender in the CAA.
“Our freshman class is really great and they score a lot of points,” Clark said. “Every recruiting class, we are getting faster and faster, so our team is evolving and changing, and other teams are starting to realize that.”
Despite the recent loss, the Huskies are taking the long view in regards to their goals for the season. Alyssa Seales, the team’s top diver and fourth-year captain, emphasized that their meet against JMU will serve as a springboard for the team’s development this season.
“It was a big learning meet for us as a team,” Seales said. “It was good for us to see [JMU] this early in the season for us to scope out our competition, see what we need to work on and go from there.”
Coates, who has 24 years of coaching experience under his belt, said he feels that the progression of this year’s team is well ahead of schedule.
“This is about as fast as we’ve been during early season in a long time,” Coates said.
With a combination of young talent and commitment to long term improvement, the swimming and diving program is trending up. The Huskies will hope to continue their progression this season as they face Boston University Nov. 8.
