Women undefeated in pool

“Uh-oh! We’re eight and ‘0’!” is the new victory chant the women’s swimming and diving team members have taken up after their victory over SUNY Fredonia last Saturday, Jan. 24. The women have worked extremely hard to come this far and Head Coach Eric Stefanski believes that “they have an outstanding chance to keep the undefeated mark in the future.”The Yellowjackets racked up an impressive 149 points against SUNY Fredonia’s 79 for their eighth straight win of the season. They dominated the meet and captured first place in nine of the ten events and competed in the last three events on an exhibition basis. Many different members on the squad were able to capture first place in the nine events, demonstrating that this team has widespread talent and skill. The UR “A” group, consisting of junior Annie Podkaimer, sophomore Amy Klenke, freshman Leah Burn, and freshman Abby Hunter, won the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 2:01.82, gaining 11 points. Burn also showed her individual strength by taking first in the 50-yard freestyle in 26.17 seconds.Individual winners include sophomore Sara Sibenaller in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:47.32, freshman Michele Gruen in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:05.95 and sophomore Erin Szajta in the 100-yard freestyle in 57.90 seconds. Sophomore Patricia McHale won the one-meter board with a score of 209.05, while teammates Crystal Hoffman and Rebecca Wilner followed in second and third, respectively. Additional team members able to take first include junior Andrea Pallante in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:29.98, freshman Kari Joyce in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 2:17.28 and freshman Sandra Gliga in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:43.47. Junior Ann Richards also clocked in first in 5:05.26 for the 400-yard IM.The future performance of the women’s swimming and diving team looks promising with two more meets this week, against William Smith and Ithaca College, and then final competition in the UAA at Emory College. Stefanski has faith in the team and says that they “will have to step up and be ready to swim their hearts out” if they are to be successful in these future meets. Keller can be reached at rkeller@campustimes.org.