Simmons Swimming & Diving honored the collegiate careers of five departing senior swimmers on Saturday, but the Sharks were unable to overcome Plymouth State University in the 160-135 loss.
Captain Keri-Ann Arsenault (Chester, N.H.), Erica Boswell (Salem, Mass.), Jenny Erviti (Warwick, Mass.), Julia Herman (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) and captain Julia Morrison (West Hartford, Conn.) will all graduate at the end of the spring 2009 semester after lifting their teammates to sweep the GNAC Championships all four years they swam for the Sharks.
"The class of 2009 has been the heart of this year's team. All five of these women are dedicated to the sport of swimming and their enthusiasm is contagious among their teammates," said Head Coach Mindy Williams. "They will be greatly missed after graduation and will be impossible to replace. These women have really shown me what the Simmons athletes are all about."
Arsenault's victories in the 1,000- and 500- yard freestyle events, and second place in the 400 IM capped her dual-meet career at Simmons.
Morrison swam a lifetime best in the 200-yard Butterfly, finishing with a time of 2:32.76, which surpassed her goal of 2:34. She finished 3rd in both the 200 and 50 Butterfly events, and was a member of the second-place 200 Medley Relay.
Boswell placed second in the 50 Free and fourth in the 100 Free, and second in the 200-yard Free Relay with teammates Chennelle Jackson (Dorchester, Mass.), Brittany Torelli (Waterbury, Conn.), and Arsenault.
Erviti took fourth in the 200-yard Backstroke and first in the 50 Back. Herman led off the 200 Medley Relay, swimming the backstroke leg and propelling the Sharks to a second-place finish. She also finished ahead of Erviti with a victory in the 200 Back.
"Almost everyone on the team finished with at least one season's best time and the divers had some solid performances on both 1-meter and 3-meter," said Williams. "The meet was closer than the final score reflects. There were at least six races that were won by less than a second, never mind races for third, fourth and fifth. The points literally came down to hundredths of a second. It would have been nice to win, but all in all, it was a good way to finish our dual meet season."
Divers Amanda Dirksmeier (Marshfield, Mass.) and Heather O'Connell (Longmeadow, Mass.) went 1-2 in the 1-meter springboard. The duo struck again in the 3-meter springboard event, this time with O'Connell taking first ahead of Dirksmeier.
"The Simmons divers had a strong finish to their regular season against Plymouth State," said Diving Coach Erin Rowe. "Both Heather and Amanda will be competing on 1-meter and 3-meter at the New England Championships in two weeks. Teammate Alyssa Rizzo will join them in the 1-meter event. Sophomore Meredith Wish had an excellent performance against Plymouth State and missed qualifying for New Englands on 1-meterm by six tenths of a point."
Simmons will close out the season in two weeks when they travel to the New England Women's Swimming and Diving Championships from February 20-22 at the UMass Dartmouth Tripp Athletic Center.