The UNH swimming and diving team (2-1) returned home this past weekend to face off against a tough Northeastern team (2-2). The Wildcats looked to keep their win streak alive but Northeastern was just too much to handle as the ‘Cats lost by a score of 152-148.
The Huskies jumped out to an early lead as they won the first event, but that lead didn’t last long with senior freestyler Corinne Carbone winning the 1000-yard freestyle. Anna Metzler and Audrey Tirrell also finished second and third in the 200 freestyle respectively. It was a back and forth meet for the entirety of the competition with both teams winning eight events, and the result coming down to the final race: the 400-freestyle relay.
Head coach Josh Willman acknowledged that Northeastern was a fantastic diving and “sprinting” team before the meet. They ended up winning both diving events as well as some of the shorter events.
Willman was happy with how the team performed with younger swimmers like first-year freestyler Jamy Lum stepping up and swimming their best times. “I would say that 90 percent of the team all did their best times. It shows that they stepped up. We got out-touched in a couple races and if we win those, we win the meet, so it shows you how close it really was.” Willman continued to say, “they were ready for a battle and we had everyone on the sides into it, so it was good to get best times in a meet like that.”
Jamy Lum had another strong performance, winning two events and she has been performing really well for a first-year swimmer. “She’s been fun to watch this year. She’s been really good this year. I can see her winning at conference, she’s a talented swimmer,” coach Willman said.
It was another tough day on the diving board for the Wildcats, but the bright spot for them was sophomore diver Lauren O’Keefe who finished third in both diving events. Despite not placing well overall, coach Willman was still pleased with his team’s performance.
“Northeastern’s divers are top notch and getting in for third is a big deal, but we have to keep improving and getting ready for conference play.”
With so many young swimmers on the team this year, the Wildcats are going to need the leadership from their veterans to keep them on track and to stay focused over the next few weeks as they prepare for the Terrier Invitational on Nov. 22.
Coach Willman wants to balance his team’s training and their rest, as they have some time to prepare for the invitational.
“What we don’t want to do is go to a mid-season invitational and put up best times and then when it comes to conference play, we don’t perform as well. We’re going to go into this one to prepare for conference, I could care less where the team finishes, I want to see what the individuals do with their times and build off that,” Willman said.
The Wildcats now are 2-1 on the yea,r and with this close loss in mind, they are just looking to keep improving towards their goal of winning within the America East.
