The 2004 New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association’s Swimming and Diving Championships took place last weekend in Webster, N.Y. Fifteen schools took part in the three-day meet, but Ithaca ran away with the meet, finishing first with 1460 points. The Red Hawks turned out a stellar performance, finishing in fifth place with 703 points.
“Overall, the team has had a great season and I think it could not have ended better for us than it did at states,” commented junior Melissa Hershey.
Hershey led the Rensselaer divers with a second place finish in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events for 56 points while teammates Lindsay Carpenter, Jennifer Keyes, and Elisa Prange came up with an impressive 55 points in the two events.
Senior Meghan Hartman won the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:36.33 and took second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:07.36. Hartman also won the 200 breaststroke with a record-breaking time of 2:21.40. All three times qualified Hartman for the NCAA national meet in March. Hartman’s performance also earned her Swimmer of the Meet honors.
Tara Murnane took sixth in the 100 butterfly, 11th in the 200 IM, and seventh in the 200 butterfly. Freshman Lea Marlor swam to a fifth place finish in the 100 backstroke and Karel Schnebele took ninth in the 100 freestyle. Senior Sara Chadwick added 35 points with a 12th place finish in the 400 IM, 13th place finish in the 200 breaststroke, and a 19th place finish in 200 IM.
The relay team of Marlor, Hartman, Murnane, and Schnebele took second in the 400 yard medley relay, third in the 200 yard medley relay, and ninth in the 400 yard freestyle relay to score 150 points for RPI. Marlor, Chadwick, Ashley Schaefer, and Katherine Gifford combined for a ninth place finish in the 200 freestyle relay, and Schnebele, Gifford, Murnane, and senior Janina Hill took eighth in the 800 freestyle relay.
The men’s swimming and diving team will be competing this weekend in the Upper New York State Collegiate Swimming Association Championships. The women will be waiting to hear if they have qualified individually for the NCAA Division III National Meet.
