By Andrew Arnao
Contributing Writer
After facing the University of Connecticut in a 191-109 home loss on Friday, the women’s swimming and diving team hosted the Bison Invitational and had several top finishers.
The meet against UConn was the final dual meet of the season for the Orange and Blue. Liz Porcellio ’13 finished first in the 200 free, 200 IM and 200 free relay with Molly Goebel ’11, Emily Wright ’14 and Kaityln Utkewicz ’14. Wright also had a first-place finish in the 100 free.
Though she placed second, Kelly Pontecorvo ’14 finished the 1,000 free with a time of 10:27.91, the third-best time in school history. Pontecorvo also finished second in the 500 free.
The Bison women participated in the Bison Invitational the next day, an unscored meet with Connecticut and American University. Porcellio and Kelly Purcell ’13 had second-place finishes in the 100 breast and 400 IM, respectively.
Before the meets this weekend, four senior swimmers were recognized for their efforts over the past four years, including Goebel, Macey Keath, Sinead O’Dwyer and Laura Twichell.
“The UConn meet was a kind of bittersweet time for the six seniors, since it was our last dual meet ever. But it was great to have all of our parents and lots of our friends there cheering us on,” Twichell said. “Looking back, the past four years have really flown by, and although swimming is a constantly demanding sport, I know we’ll all miss the thrill of competing and the camaraderie of being on a close-knit team.”
“Going into the championship meets in February, our capability to win titles and break records is a direct result of the gains we have made in our personal relationships both on the team and in this community,” O’Dwyer said.
Twichell gave a speech before the UConn meet, where she quoted Pericles as saying, “What you leave behind is not engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” The Bison women, especially the soon-to-depart seniors, will clearly reflect on this as they prepare for the Patriot League Championships which will take place in Kinney Natatorium from Feb. 17-19.
