The swimming and diving teams will return to Cambridge today, where they will compete in the two-day MIT Invitational against Tufts, Colby, NYU, MIT and Wheaton.
MIT was also the site of their split result in their season opener two weeks ago. The men's and women's teams hope to use this upcoming meet as an opportunity to perfect technique and gain race experience.
"Right now we're really focusing on technique," said first year Peyton Morss. "This meet is a time to put new things into practice and to see how they work in a race. You don't want to be trying a new turn two weeks before conference."
In the November 20 three-team meet, the men's and women's teams posted similar results; both defeated Babson but lost out the nationally-ranked MIT team.
The men beat Babson 176-112 but lost to MIT 217-77 while the women outscored Babson by a sound 125 points (204-79) but were defeated by MIT 228 to 70.
According to Morss, the team expected these results at this point in the season.
"MIT is a big team; they start training a lot earlier, so we definitely didn't go into it thinking, 'Beat MIT,'" Morss said. "Everyone swam, it was fun, people got to step out of their comfort zones and try new events and we did as well as could be expected three weeks in."
Morss also noted, however, that the team's focus would likely shift somewhat as the season continues.
"Things will pick up a lot after training camp," Morss said. "After Christmas break we'll start having a lot of dual meets with schools like Colby and Bates, and that's when we'll really be looking to gain points."
Individual standouts for the men included Basyl Stuyvesant '13, who won the 100-yard backstroke and came in second in the 200-yard backstroke, as well as Zach Perez '12 who delivered two second place finishes in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke. Junior Nathan Mecray also performed well, coming in second in the 50-yard freestyle.
On the women's side, junior Allen Garner won the 1000-yard freestyle, while second-place finishes from Allison Palmer '11 (50-yard free and 100-yard free) and Caitlin Callahan '11 (100-yard breaststroke) also gained points for the team.
The women's 400-yard free relay team of Garner, Palmer, Kaley Kokomoor '13 and Christine Rholl '14 also boasted a second-place showing.
For Morss, the team's camaraderie and support were impressive.
"The team's really great, the nice thing about low-pressure meets is that everyone gets out to cheer for everyone else's races," Morss said. "It's a really big difference for first years coming from USA [Swimming club] teams. [At USA meets] you're actually encouraged not to cheer so you can conserve energy for your own races, but it's really about a team base for Bowdoin; it's a great dynamic."
The team looks forward to its first home meet, the three-day Bowdoin Open on December 10-12.