The Hillsdale Swim team beat Northern Michigan University 152-142 but lost to Wayne State University 95-193 in a meet at Northern on Nov. 20, bringing them to their current record of 4-2.
“Given their level of training at that point and the times they were able to swim, I was very impressed,” head coach Mary Anne Gerzanick said.
Junior Amanda Smith said she thought the team did well even though the format of the meet was not to their advantage.
“We had some girls swim back-to-back events,” Smith said. “However, they performed extremely well.”
With a close win against Northern Michigan, sophomore Laura Axiak said every single event was critical.
“There is not much depth in scoring,” she said. “Every first or second or third place finish really helped make the difference for us to get ahead of Northern.”
“It's something in the water in Detroit,” Smith said, despite their defeat. “Wayne State had a good meet, but they are beatable.”
Axiak said Wayne State has a very good team, but if the Chargers continue to improve each year, she thinks they will be able to challenge Wayne State in a few years.
Among the highlights of the meet were multiple wins by sophomore Tyler Patterson and Smith. Patterson took first in the 400-yard IM and 100-yard and 200-yard butterfly events. Smith won the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle events. She also took second to Patterson in the 100-yard butterfly event.
Sophomore Amy Thomas and freshman Ali Lanctot had lifetime best times in the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard butterfly event, respectively.
The Chargers are currently swimming at the Notre Dame Invitational, a three-day event in which several schools compete at the University of Notre Dame. The swimmers left for South Bend, Ind. Wednesday.
The competition, which consists of a series of daily preliminary and final events, begins today and ends Saturday.
“It’s very competitive,” Axiak said, adding that each swimmer’s goal is to make it to the finals for her event.
Because the swimmers have been tapering, or reducing the distance that they swim to rest and prepare for the invitational, Gerzanick said there are generally lifetime best and season best swims at the event.
According to Gerzanick, the invitational, which the team has been attending for five years, is an important bonding experience for the swimmers as well as an opportunity to swim against some strong teams.
“There are a lot of high power, Division I programs,” Gerzanick said. “It is a good semester-ending meet with a lot of excitement.”
The swimmers will train individually over Christmas vacation and the team will hold winter training in Hawaii Jan. 4 through Jan. 14 to prepare for the remainder of the season; their next meet will be at home on Jan. 21.
According to Gerzanick, the training trip is a staple of the collegiate training program and it is helpful to have a long course facility. The team will have access to a 50-meter pool for their four to five hours of daily practice in which they swim an average of 15,000 yards a day.
“It’s hard, grueling training,” Gerzanick said. “It’s very helpful to be in an environment full of light at sunrise.”