Swim and dive team start season at home

The Jackets showed off their team through full participation from all members at the quad-meet last Saturday. The men's team defeated Alabama, and the women's team swept the opponents in all major diving categories.

The meet played host to men's and women's teams from Alabama, Clemson and Florida State, giving the Jackets the first official swim meet since last spring's ACC Championships.

The competition was very stiff among the four teams, as each one tried to establish early momentum to start the season.

"I really look forward to racing these kinds of teams all the time. We have a lot of new guys on the team, and the more times we race them the more fun [it is] to race," said Noah Copeland, a senior swim team member.

Copeland, an Olympic trial qualifier, won the 200-yard freestyle event with a time of just 1:39.77. He also swam the first leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay, which finished in second place.

"I've never really realized about how we've made such a great improvement over the last year. For the breaststrokes especially, we've gotten a new breaststroker Mickey [Malul], who's really going to help out with the relays and one of our freshmen backstrokers really stepped it up today, which is really going to help our relays too...Everyone on the team did well today," Copeland said.

In fact, Mickey Malul won the 100-yard breast-stroke event in a close finish time.

"It's always fun to see what the new guys can do, and they did pretty well today. We also have a lot of upperclassmen who we know are going to score points and they always do what needs to be done and it's always interesting to see how the freshmen are going to pull through this year and how the older guys improve as well and how everything works out at the ACC's," Copeland said.

In the diving well, there was little competition from the Jacket's opponents. Hannah Krimm dominated the diving events to give the Jackets an extra boost in the overall total of points. The former All-ACC Academic team member stole away the crowns in the one and three meter events.

Elizabeth Stowe stood out among the competition. The senior won the 1000-meter freestyle event in 10:01.64, swimming past each of the competitors in at least eleven seconds. The co-captain just finished second in the 500-yard freestyle event.

"My 1000 felt really good but as [Coach] Stu pointed out, I need to work on my turns and getting off the wall better and, other than that, just getting some more yardages in, just to work on getting ready for the 1000 and 500," Stowe said.Co-captain Agatha Kwasnik, who holds four school swimming records, finished just second in the 100-yard freestyle event.

"I think the sophomores are pretty much where they need to be, like they've had their freshman year here and they're good. For the freshmen, I like just talking with them and if they need questions, I answer them when I can and it's pretty exciting telling them how my freshman year was and just helping them along...As a role model, I would just have to say that going out there...giving it everything and racing the person next to you, like at the meet. Just stepping it up and knowing that you have to beat the person next to you," Stowe said.

Christine Chuang began her collegiate career with a splash through victories in the 200- and 100-yard butterfly events.

"We definitely wanted to get out there and just show everybody that we're having a huge incoming freshman class, and I think we really showed that today. Christine [Chuang] had some really good swims. Overall, we just wanted to put our name out there and get out there and show our best," Stowe said.

Finally, Ryan Kopacka swam the first leg of the 400-medley and teammate Caroline Jones participated in four events, including freestyle and backstroke.

After hosting the annual Alumni meet next Saturday, the women's team will travel to a quad-meet in Florida leading up to the next home meet on Nov. 3 against Western Kentucky at the Aquatic Center located inside the CRC.