It was a heartbreaking Saturday for the Lady Blue Swimmers, who lost their first meet since February 2002 to the Hopkins Hill-Toppers with a final score of 100.5 to 85.5. Despite the loss, the team swam well against last season’s second place team. Almost every swimmer achieved either a season or personal best. Said Liz Demers ’05 of her team, “Losing is never fun, but the girls acted like true champions after the tough loss. We have no reason to be disappointed with our performance on Saturday: we swam some fast times and we were supportive of each other. Losing to Hopkins isn’t a setback, its motivation.” Hee-jin Chang ’05 continued to amaze, setting a pool record at Hopkins in the 200 yard free-style with her time of 1:53.34. Swimming five seconds faster than last week, Chang seems to be unstoppable. Katie Faulkner ’06 continues to be nothing short of incredible in the water. Her 200 and 500 yard freestyle events were a true asset to the team’s performance on Saturday. Alex Doty ’05 also swam exceptionally well, coming in first place in the 100 fly. In the 100 back, Doty touched in less than a second after her competitor, snagging second place in the event. Behind her in third and fourth place were Kate Page ’04 and Laura Benca ’05. Alyssa Hill ’06 was extremely impressed with the way her teammates composed themselves, saying “This meet was my first swimming loss here at Andover, and I was so impressed with the way all of the girls handled themselves. Almost everybody got at least one season or personal best and we should all be proud of the way we swam.” The Andover Girl’s Divers had a successful day. Rachel Reinaur ’07 took second place, and Captain Jacqui LeBoutillier ’04 took third. Catherine Lee-Kramer ’07 dove in her first varsity meet, taking fifth place. LeBoutillier ’04 was very happy with the performance of her team, “I couldn’t happier with how the team dove on Saturday,” she said, “There was so much positive energy among everyone. I was thrilled with the performance overall.” Captain Kate Page ’04 has only optimistic feelings about her team. “We’ve only been back in the pool practicing for a few days and already there’s a noticeable change in everyone’s work ethic. A Unfortunately every streak must come to an end but I’m so proud of how graciously the team handled it, really proving that we are great competitors with good sportsmanship.” Coach Paul Murphy continues to be proud of his team’s performance. Said Murphy, “Not only does this team win well, it also turns out that we lose well too! The girls were gracious in their loss, giving Hopkins credit for their passion to beat us. We swam well, but they swam better. They also know that we will rise above Hopkins on March 6!”
