The RPI swimmers were very busy in previous weekends with two away meets: at Skidmore on January 26 and at Hamilton on February 2. One team member in particular really stood out—sophomore Meghan Hartman. Hartman was named UCAA Swimmer of the Week for the week of January 22. Even more impressive than her award was her amazing 4:32.94 time in the 400-yard individual medley at the Hamilton meet. That time makes her the fourth-fastest swimmer in the nation in that event. In addition, her time beat the automatic qualifying time for the NCAA national championship meet by two seconds.
The teams as a whole demolished Skidmore during their visit. The women had a team score of 127-68, and the men beat the Thoroughbreds 118-50. Skidmore simply was no match for the RPI swimmers, who left little for the Thoroughbreds except for their wakes.
The following weekend at Hamilton, both teams fell to the longstanding powerhouse of Hamilton’s program. Despite the defeat, the RPI swimmers put up quite a show. Junior Allison Geer won both the 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle. Her time in the 200 (1:56.23) provisionally qualified for the NCAA national championship meet. Hartman, in addition to her incredible performance in the 400 IM, also won the 500-yard freestyle. For the men, Bryant Eadon won the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:15, and Pat Fell cleaned up in the 200-yard free with a time of 1:47.9.
Both the men’s and women’s teams have a number of swimmers who have either qualified for the NCAA national championship meet or who are in contention to go. Both teams have only their respective New York State Championship meets left, both of which will likely go very well for RPI. The women will be swimming at the state meet February 20-23, and the men compete the following week. Both meets will be held at the Knottingham High School swimming pool in Syracuse.
