After finishing a close fourth at the 2012 America East Championship last season, the members of the UVM swimming and diving team are hoping to find similar success.
Every year our goal is to compete at the highest level we can, said Vermont swimming and diving head coach Gerry Cournoyer, in a preseason interview with CatamounTV.
The Catamounts opened up their 2012-2013 season on Oct. 5 and earned two separate wins against Boston College and Rowan College, while the team fell to host Army.
First-year Christa Weaver had two personal victories in the 100 and 200 freestyle events, also setting a new first-year record of 24.03 seconds in the 50 freestyle.
This first meet has shown us what we need to improve on going forward, stated Cournoyer in a post-meet interview.
Weaver was also a huge part in the 177-121 win over Wagner during Vermonts first home meet of the season, Oct. 13. Weavers performance earned her the title of America East Swimmer of the Week. The victory came as Vermont secured the top two spots in six separate events, earning wins in a total of 10 races.
Other top spots at Wagner were held by first-year Diane Brown, coming in second place in the 50 and the 100 freestyles, with first-year Andie Blaser right behind. Senior Kailey Gardner and first-year Carah McClure took one and two in the 1,000, while senior Chelsea Krisanda and Gardner grabbed another first and second place in the 400 Individual Medley.
This past week, the Catamounts hosted the New Hampshire Wildcats in a dual meet, ending with wins in four events. However, Vermont fell to their competition by a score of 186-114, bringing their season record to 3-2.
Finishing in first place for the Catamounts were Gardner, who picked up yet another first place finish in the 1,000 freestyle, Weaver, who held onto her title by winning the 50 freestyle, and senior Susannah Gruner, earning first in the 1-meter diving competition.
After graduating a strong class of 14 girls from last season, Cournoyer formed a recruiting class of a matching 14 first-years in an attempt to fill the seniors big shoes.
These new recruits have proved very helpful with the start of the season, earning both first and second spots each meet thus far.
They have clearly stepped up and are taking on the roles of leaders in the pool, acting as major catalysts in the teams strong performance record thus far. The first-years are led by an even stronger group of upperclassmen that have been solid leaders both in and out of the pool.
At these meets we gain confidence by seeing what we can do in the pool, said Gardner in a post-meet interview with CatamounTV.
UVM heads back to the pool on Nov. 3 as they hit the road to face the Sienna Saint Bernards. The Catamounts topped Sienna last season in their home pool, earning 177 point to Siennas 104.
