By EVAN JARASHOW
Staff Writer
 

A few individual performances stood out in what was a great day for the entire team. Denby Johnson `01 shattered the school record in the 1000-yard freestyle. Her time of 10:45.32 was 11 seconds faster than the previous record, and set the stage for what could be an interesting run at a National qualifying time. Johnson has asserted herself as a force in the NESCAC, and is one of the front runners for the league title in this even. Megan Shelley `00 turned in a fantastic time of 2:21.08 in the 200-yard backstroke that was one second off her personal best. In what turned out to be the closest race of the day, Laura Hardester and Lauren Fey took second and third in the 200 yard breaststroke, finishing one second apart at 2:38, and 2:39 respectively. The tandem split a great pair from Colby that ended up in third and fourth.

As for the men, it was a great meet to watch develop. It was extremely close throughout the whole way, and the meet was eventually decided by the final race, the 200 free relay. But, as soon as the team of Miles Cobb `01, Paul Urbanczyk `00, Mike Jensen `01, and Dave Blaney `01 hit the water, the meet was all over. This relay team tied the school record in the event and also broke the Tarbell Pool record. In addition, they need ony to improve by 4 seconds to qualify for Nationals. To aid the Bobcat effort, Chris Orpilla  `99 won the 200 yard breaststroke, with Damon Bowe `99 taking second. Bowe also won the 200 IM, to add to what was a fine day of racing.

Perhaps the most notable part of both of the teams is their fine combination of youth and experience. Undoubtably, this year's crop of first-years are excellent, but still new to this level of competition. Newcomers like Blaney, Cobb, Jensen, Mike McCarthy, Pamela Murchie, Gudrun Myrick, and Julia Coes clearly add to the depth and strength of the team. This is a team poised to attack the perennia league powerhouses like Middlebury and WIlliams. It might not happen this year, but with continued training and improvement, they may certainly offer a challenge as a dark horse.

As well as contending for the league title, one of the focuses of this team is to qualify as many individuals as possible for the National Championships. nationals are notoriously hard to qualify for, but the group has many individuals that are right on the bubble.

With a few weeks left in the season, it will be interesting to see which members can step it up to the next level and represent Bates at the national level.

"I really want to see every member improve individually each week. That's how we improve as a team, and I have faith that we can become even stronger," said head coach Dana Mulholland.

The swim team is a lot of fun to watch compete. It's fast paced, and good competition. The meet against Colby was expecially exciting because it was a tight match-up in almost every event, but it will also be fun to see if the members can live up to their high aspirations.