Sloane Sambuco ’16, Yifei Wu ’17, Allyson Ty ’18 and Elizabeth Tran ’19 kicked off Andover’s meet against Loomis Chaffee with a landslide victory in the 200-Meter Medley Relay. The girls notched a time of 2:06.82 minutes, a full three seconds ahead of the second-place Loomis Chaffee team. Andover Girls Swimming & Diving went on to sweep Loomis in eight out of 13 events. The final score was 107.5-73.5, improving Andover’s record to 2-2-0.
Loomis’s pool is measured in meters, instead of the standard 25-yard length that Andover is used to. This made all of the events slightly longer than usual. Andover trained all week for the meet.
Head Coach Paul Murphy ’83 said, “We practiced longer distances this week to get ready. We expected to beat Loomis based on some meet results. But we also expected some great and close races and we got those – very important to any good team to have good competition.”
Katherine Sweetser ’17 claimed first place in the 200-Meter Freestyle by three full seconds with a time of 2:13.56 minutes. Sweetser also won the 100-Meter Butterfly with a time of 1:06.63 minutes, an event that she has focused on for the season.
Sweetser wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “I was happy with my 100-Meter Butterfly this weekend, because I am in a good position to improve this race over the course of the season. I maintained a strong tempo throughout the race, but working on my endurance in practice will help me have a stronger finish.”
In the 200-Meter Individual Medley, Tran placed second in a close race with a time of 2:30.35 minutes. Tran secured another second place finish in the 100-Meter Butterfly with a time of 1:07.95 minutes.
In an email to The Phillipian, Tran wrote, “Going into the meet, we felt strong and confident. We put a lot of effort into our practices the past week and were ready to swim fast.”
Allyson Ty snatched first-place finishes in the 50-Meter Freestyle and the 100-Meter Freestyle with times of 27.54 and 1:05.10, respectively.
The team’s chemistry and spirit have been crucial to Andover’s success this season.
Kathleen Ty ’19 wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “The whole team had a positive attitude throughout the whole week. We worked very hard at practice and remained focused. We felt confident, excited and ready. During the meet, everyone was being supportive of each other by cheering everyone on. The energy, spirit and positive attitude of the team resulted in a great meet for everyone.”
Kathleen Ty placed second in the 100-Meter Breaststroke with an improved time of 1:23.43 minutes.
Andover swimmers snatched first, second and third places in the 100-Meter Breaststroke. Wu claimed the winning time of 1:22.94 minutes, and Kathleen Ty and Emma Chatson ’18 followed close behind with times of 1:23.43 and 1:27.48, respectively.
Andover beat Loomis in the 400-Meter Freestyle Relay with a time of 4:11.57 minutes. The relay team consisted of Sweetser, Co-Captain Elizabeth Duserick ’16, Jess Gearan ’18, and Allyson Ty.
Andover looks to top Northfield Mount Hermon this Saturday in the final home meet of the season.
