By AJ Mercincavage
The women’s swimming and diving team prepared for its upcoming season Saturday with the intrasquad Black and Red Meet.
“Some of the girls were not fully satisfied with how their seasons ended,” team captain Kara Lane said of the team’s sixth place finish at last year’s Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship. “So I think that we’re all really pumped and ready to get this season going and really aiming to do even better.”
The squad split into two equal teams, each representing one of the Northeastern’s school colors, and swam against teammates in friendly competition. The meet mirrored the collegiate dual meet format the team will be competing in throughout the season.
“The purpose of the meet was more to work out the kinks,” said head coach Roy Coates. “It was more for the new swimmers who have never experienced a collegiate meet before.”
Making the transfer from high school to collegiate swimming are notables Sarah Martin, a Haverhill native, and Carole Marsh, a newcomer from Michigan, who round out what their coach describes as a “very talented freshman class.” Ten new swimmers, a transfer and nine freshmen, join the Northeastern team this year.
“The new girls are really fitting in well and looking to be very competitive,” Lane said. “I want the transition to college and being a Division 1 athlete [to be] a positive experience for the freshmen.”
Event winners of the Black and Red meet varied, with the Black team emerging victorious by a small margin. Elena Alverez won both the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke, Kara Lane took the 100 and 200 meter butterfly and Alex Doty won the 100 meter backstroke. Emily Sutliff dominated the distance freestyle events by winning the 1000 and 500 meter, Lauren Williams took first in the 200 meter freestyle and freshman Sarah Martin won the 50 meter free. Brittany Gilles won both the one and three meter diving events.
“There’s a new energy to the team and that brings a new excitement,” Coates said.
The girls’ first true dual meet will be Friday against Boston College (BC) at 6 p.m.
“This is between two schools who are constantly recruiting from the same group of kids. It’s a big rivalry,” Coates said. “The whole season is preparation for the Conference Championships but we want to win this meet. For 12 years, whoever the home team was had always won this meet but we broke that streak last year.”
That win at BC marked the second year in a row that Northeastern has defeated the Eagles.
The rivalry will continue at the Barletta Natatorium Friday, Oct. 5, when the team seeks its third straight victory over Boston College.
“We’ve beaten them for the past two years,” Lane said. “And we are ready to make it three.”
The team finished last season with a 6-3 (1-2 CAA) record, finishing sixth at the CAA Championship in Fairfax, Va. Then sophomore Elena Alvarez placed seventh overall and was the top finisher for the Huskies with 47 points.
In the four day event, Alvarez broke her own CAA record in the 100 meter backstroke with a time of 1:04.57. She set the previous record during the 2006 championships.
