Despite finishing in eighth place, the Bowdoin women swimmers were able to topple a number of school records during the NESCAC Championship at Bowdoin.
Over the course of the grueling three-day-long NESCAC Championships, the women's swim team swam well as a whole and produced one of their finest performances of the year.
On Friday, sophomore Caitlin Callahan started the meet off with a bang for the Polar Bears. Swimming the 50-yard breaststroke in a blistering time of 30.47 seconds, Callahan placed second in the individual event and set a new Bowdoin school record.
Fellow sophomore teammate Allison Palmer followed Callahan soon after in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing sixth with a time of 24.44 seconds, just off the national B cut time, meaning she will likely be invited to Nationals.
These two were accompanied by backstroker Erin McAuliffe '11 and butterflyer Megan Sullivan '11 to round out the 400-yard medley relay. The quartet swam their way to a Bowdoin team record and an eighth-place finish wrapping up Friday's session on a high note for the Polar Bears.
However, it was only a matter of hours before the foursome was reunited to do it again. On Saturday, in the 200-yard medley relay, the same four sophomores successfully beat another Bowdoin school record and placed fifth in the competition with an impressive time of 1:50.34.
"I was overwhelmed by how well everyone swam, it amazed me that we were able to get right back into it after such a grueling Friday session," Sullivan said.
Later in the session, first year Allen Garner placed eighth in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:54.88 making a national B cut. Callahan took fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke, and the relay team of Sullivan, Jessie Small '11, Zoe Harran '11, and Garner took eighth in the 800-yard freestyle relay, setting yet another school record.
Sunday opened with a school record and sixth-place finish from Palmer in the 100-yard freestyle. Later Palmer, joined by Sullivan, Small, and Garner, ended the meet with another school record and sixth place in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
"We knew that we were tied up with Wesleyan going into it so we had to swim strong," Palmer said. "I was amazed by how much we powered through... it paid off."
Indeed, Bowdoin edged out Wesleyan by 10 points with a final score of 669, placing eighth overall in the NESCAC competition.
Next weekend the men will finish their season at the NESCAC championships held at Wesleyan.
"Everyone is looking crisp and strong," said tri-captain Josh Kimball '09. Sophomore Christian Hurst added, "It will undeniably be an exciting meet and one with some really big swims."