Simmons Swimming & Diving is poised to open their season after a very successful 2009-10 campaign. The team defended their Great Northeast Athletic Conference title by winning their sixth consecutive Championship. Simmons went on to finish 8th of 22 teams at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Championship, the highest finish for the Sharks since 2003. The Sharks also shattered seven school records and four pool records.
The momentum from last year's successful season has trickled over into the start of the 2010-11 season. The team looks forward to increasing their training intensity during the next few months. "We have a very enthusiastic and committed group of veteran swimmers and divers returning this season. Combined with a talented and competitive roster of rookies, our team is in position to once again lead the conference and break some records," said Head Coach Mindy Williams.
Three Simmons record-holders will return to the pool this winter. Senior diving captain Amanda Dirksmeier (Marshfield, Mass.), the program record-holder in 3-meter diving, will lead the team on both 1-meter and 3-meter springboards. Sprint butterflier, Nellie Jackson (Dorchester, Mass.), looks to defend her GNAC title in the 100 Butterfly and round out some fast relays. Senior captain, Virginia Bette (Southbury, Conn.) will return to dominate the backstroke, sprint and mid-distance freestyle events.
Simmons graduated three senior captains in May 2010. All contributed to the team in points as well as attitude. Brittany Torelli left a legacy with her name on the record board. Caitlin Urciuoli consistently brought in points during the freestyle events and led the way for the distance team. Four-year diver and senior captain, Heather O'Connell, had extensive and difficult diving lists.
"We lost some very strong athletes last season, but we have eager, hard-working rookies that seem ready to fill those shoes," said Williams. The addition of first-year swimmer Amy Davis (Southbury, Conn.) will help move Simmons up the ranks. Davis will be a force for the Sharks in the freestyle and butterfly events. Sophomore transfers Marissa Soucy (Mount Vernon, N.H.) and Rachael Mullen (Peabody, Mass.), will also contribute to the success of the team in sprint freestyle and IM, respectively.
"With a slightly larger team than in season's past, we will definitely put together some strong dual meet line-ups. The women are clearly excited for the upcoming meets and ready to score points," said Williams. "The fact that the coaches can see our team's cohesiveness this early in the season is a very good sign for the upcoming months!"
The Sharks will open their season on Saturday, October 29 when they travel for a meet vs. Westfield State at 1:00pm.