Last Saturday, the Bowdoin Swimming and Diving Team traveled to Waterville to face the Colby Mules for its last dual meet of the season.
Both the men and women's teams fell to a strong Colby squad, 162-126 and 163-99, respectively.
Head Coach Brad Burnham, however, was not discouraged.
"[The meet was] a great test just before heading into conference meets," he said.
"The Colby meet was super exciting. Our teams were well matched," said senior captain Carrie Roble.
Finishing in first for the Bowdoin women was diver Ginger Leone '11, who dominated the one and three meter boards.
Fellow first year Allison Palmer picked up two wins in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events, while Emma Chiappetta '11 won the 200-yard butterfly event.
The women's 200-yard medley relay teams displayed a significant amount of depth, with strong second and third place finishes.
In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the team of Palmer, Roble, Megan Sullivan '11, and Kerry Brodziak '08 swam an extremely close race in which the Colby squad defeated it by a narrow margin of less than a tenth of a second.
Despite an overall loss, members of the men's team posted a number of individual wins.
Christian Hurst '11 was victorious in the 200-yard butterfly, while Ben Rachlin '08 finished first in the 100-yard backstroke.
Sophomore Sean Morris edged out his competition by three-tenths of a second to capture the 100-yard butterfly.
Both the men and women's teams are now focusing on their preparation and taper for the upcoming NESCAC championships.
"We are over the disappointing finish to the season and are very much looking forward to swimming fast at the conference meets. Everyone will be rested and ready to go and that makes for an unbeatable atmosphere," said Burnham.
The women will head to Wesleyan for the three-day NESCAC competition in one week.
"[Wesleyan] is great because we were just there for our dual meet. The women know the place well," said Burnham.
"Our team is fired up for NESCACs. We have so much depth this year that we will be making it back in a ton of events and stealing points right and left," said Roble.
The following weekend, the men's team competes at their NESCAC meet, which will be held at Middlebury.
Burnham noted that both teams are anticipating the high-intensity atmospheres of their respective conference meets.
"Our team goal is to leave everything we have in the respective pools?every race, every dive, and every ounce of support for teammates," he said.