By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
November is two weeks away, signaling the start of winter sports seasons. However, the women’s swimming and diving team has already started practicing, finding themselves in their fourth week as of today.
Last season, the women’s team finished with nine wins for the second year, while only dropping six meets. Just like their male counterparts, Springfield competed in the NEWMAC championships. They finished fourth overall, scoring 693.5 points.
The team saw four athletes qualify for the 2024 NCAA Division III championships – Erin Kelaher, Nina Lamb, Kay Shen and Maddie Symecko. During the first night of competition, all four competed together in the 200-medley relay and finished 12th overall, setting a new school record with a time of 1:43:33.
“It was awesome,” Lamb said. “My sophomore year we broke it, but then last year we broke it by a landslide. It was really awesome to do it again because we worked so hard that season so it was good to see it finally pay off.”
In the 2024-25 NEWMAC women’s swimming and diving preseason poll, Springfield was voted to place fourth once again, behind longtime powerhouses MIT and Coast Guard, as well as Wheaton.
Lamb is one of eight seniors or graduate students returning. Last season, she competed in the 100m breaststroke at NCAA’s and finished 18th in the nation. She also swam in the 400m relay. Despite all the individual success, Lamb’s sights are set on beating that fourth-place projection.
“At NEWMAC’s we want to place a little bit higher,” Lamb said. “We definitely have the capability to do that. We want to place in the top three. We were really close to Wheaton, who’s our rival.”
New assistant coach Skyler Wilder is a Wheaton Alumnus herself. During her time with the Lyons, she broke multiple school records in relay races and the 200 backstroke. Wilder looks to implement what she learned as a swimmer into her coaching.
“What I learned and what I want to teach these guys is you can throw any challenge in front of me, I’m capable of attacking it,” Wilder said. “Is it gonna be successful? Maybe not, but you gotta have the guts to go for it. It doesn’t matter what life throws at you, figure it out one step at a time, especially when you have a team around you.”
The women’s schedule is almost exactly the same as the men’s, with the exception being a tri-meet hosted by Smith College. Wellesley is the other team Springfield will face off against. They kick off the year home against MIT on Nov. 2 at 12 p.m..
“MIT’s their own level, but it’s really good competition,” Lamb said. “I’m looking forward to that for our first meet.”