(Christian Yiu | Collegian)
The swim team took home a win against Indiana Wesleyan University at their first meet of the season with a final score of 125-78 this past Saturday, Oct. 2.
Head Coach Kurt Kirner said he was satisfied with his team’s performance this past weekend, but the competition was challenging.
“I thought we did well for where we are in the season,” Kirner said. “Indiana Wesleyan has really stepped up its game. We handled them just fine this meet, but they have a little bit more depth and they did a nice job of pushing us to times that we needed to be at.”
Freshman Lily Golladay said it was exciting to see everyone’s performances.
“Everyone was really involved and there was no sitting down, really,” Golladay said. “Everyone was on the side of the pool cheering. It was a really great experience.”
The chargers began the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:52.94 against Indiana Wesleyan’s 1:55.39. The Chargers’ team consisted of sophomore Caroline Holmes on backstroke, freshman Emma Dickhudt on breaststroke, freshman Megan Clifford on butterfly, and junior Marie Taylor on freestyle.
Four Hillsdale swimmers won individual events. Junior Leah Tunney topped the 200 free and 100 back events at 1:58.97 and 1:00.27 respectively. Taylor won the 50 free (25.15) and 100 free (54.76) heats. Freshman Joanna Burnham, in her collegiate swimming debut, came in at the top of the 200 I.M. (2:15.51) and the 100 breast (1:10.73). Clifford won the 100 fly heat with a time of 58.92, which Kirner said was a promising swim.
“Megan has the capability by the end of the season to take down the school record in the 100 fly,” Kirner.
The current record sits at 56.45 and was set in 2009.
Though it’s still early in the season, Kirner said the freshmen have already given a lot to the team.
“They add a dimension that we need in terms of their respective strokes and what they can add to the team, so that’s great,” Kirner said.
Holmes said she was encouraged by the way the team opened the season.
“We had a tough week just with getting back into the swing of things,” Holmes said. “All in all, I think people really just put that aside and just decided to go and race. It was great to start with a dub. We’re a strong team and this just proves that.”
Golladay said she’s looking forward to what the season will bring.
“I think as the season goes on, we’re going to get a lot stronger, both physically and as a team,” Golladay said.
Kirner said this meet provided a good starting point for the team and the win gave him confidence that they will continue to be strong competitors in the conference.
Their next competition is a relay meet against Malone University on Oct. 16.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do for us to be able to defend a title,” Kirner said. “It’s going to be no cakewalk.”
