By AJ Mercinacavage
The women’s swimming and diving team concluded its season with a fifth place finish at the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship Saturday, March 1.
During the dual meet season, the team went an unprecedented 10-0. This was the first time the Northeastern program went undefeated since the 2001-02 season.
“We really came together as a team this season and no matter what was going on outside the pool we always put it aside and continued to work hard,” said sophomore distance freestyler Emily Sutliff. “Even though it was a long season, we all helped each other get through it and people had really great swims to show for it at the end of the season.”
The Huskies came together to break four school records at the CAA Championship, including the 200- and 400-yard medley relays, the 200-yard individual medley and 200-yard freestyle, and scored 341.5 points to achieve their best finish at the conference meet to date.
“While other teams would cheer from the side of the pool we would have people along the side and at the end of the lane,” said co-captain Heather Whiting. “I believe that extra support really made the difference in our season because a lot of races came down to fractions of a second.”
Earlier in the season, the Huskies placed first at the Terrier Invitational hosted by Boston University, where they set three new school records and defeated cross-town rivals BU, BC and UMass.
“Winning the Terrier Invitational was a real highlight of the season,” said senior co-captain Kara Lane. “It came down to the last race, just like last year, and we showed true grit, and took our racing up to the next level. We saw that our hard work was paying off and we capitalized in every possible situation. That was a great meet for us.”
The 2007-08 season was a triumph for the Northeastern team that was 6-3 last year, with a 1-2 conference record. The Huskies will look to replicate their success next season.
“Everyone’s been asking me how I feel, being done with swimming, and I can’t help but say that I am so happy with the way things finished,” said Lane of the end of her Northeastern swimming career. “I couldn’t have written a better ending for my senior year. I couldn’t have asked to have better coaches, better girls to swim with and be at a better place than Northeastern.”
