Bates swim teams sweep Maine State Meet for fourth time in as many years

Riley Ewing was a winner in five individual races and two relays as both the Bates men's and women's swim teams won the Maine State Meet over Bowdoin, Colby and the University of Maine for the fourth straight year on Dec. 2, 2017. (File photo: d3photography.com)

BRUNSWICK, Maine -- The Bates men's and women's teams both won the Maine State Collegiate Swimming & Diving Meet for the fourth time in as many years, grinding out an extensive schedule of races over the course of three sessions in a span of 24 hours.

"Both teams swam more events than I've ever seen before in three sessions," said head coach Peter Casares. "They never gave up and they showed everybody how tough they were. It was awesome to watch!"

Senior captain Riley Ewing (Bedford, N.H.) led the men's team with five individual event victories and sophomore Janika Ho (Los Angeles, Calif.) won three races and was the runner-up in three others to lead the women's team. Ho set Bates' team record in the 100-yard individual medley in her final event.

The Bates men outscored runner-up Bowdoin 1,096 points to 869. Colby took third place with 648, followed by the University of Maine with 521.

Bates also led the women's team scoring with 1,039.5 points, followed by Bowdoin (938), Maine (795) and Colby (388.5).

Women's Highlights:

• Ho, sophomore Monica Sears (San Anselmo, Calif.), senior captain Hope Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) and senior captain Logan McGill (Dallas, Texas) opened the meet with a narrow victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay, finishing in 1:37.54 to 1:38.47 for Maine and 1:38.51 for Bowdoin.
• Bates also won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:47.02, 2.6 seconds ahead of Maine, on legs swum by Ho, McGill, first-year Caroline Apathy (Devon, Pa.) and Sears.
• Ho set the meet record in the 100 IM with her time of 1:00.18. She also won the 100 free in 53.15 seconds, as well as the 100-yard butterfly in 57.43 ahead of second-place Apathy (58.20). Ho was also the runner-up in the 100 back (58.52), the 50 free (24.48) and the 50 fly (25.99), tying with Apathy in the latter race.
• McGill set a meet record in the 50 fly, leading a 1-2-3 Bates sweep in 25.69 seconds ahead of teammates Apathy and Ho. McGill also took first in the 50 free in 24.18, 0.30 ahead of runner-up Ho.
• Sears was dominant in the 500 free, winning by a margin of more than four seconds with a time of 5:08.96. She also won the 200 free (1:56.78) and the 1,000 free (17:59.30) on Saturday.
• Sophomore Emmy Daigle (Portland, Ore.) won the 50 breast (31.45).
• Logan won the 200 IM in 2:11.35, with outstanding second-half splits of 37.89 seconds in the breaststroke and 29.89 in the freestyle.
• Sophomore Hannah Johnson (Brewster, Mass.) won the 50-yard backstroke in 27.90 and led a 1-2-3-4 Bates sweep in the 100 back in 58.33. Johnson also won the 200 back (2:05.86).
• Junior Emma Lammers (Upper Arlington, Ohio) led a 1-2-3 Bates sweep in the 200 fly (2:11.12), with sophomore Amy Duren (Chatham, N.J.) second in 2:12.12.

Men's Highlights:

• The Bates men opened the meet Friday night with a convincing victory and a 1:26.32 in the 200-yard freestyle relay, anchored by senior Teddy Pender (Muscat, Oman) after legs by senior Jonathan Depew (Hudson, Ohio), junior Alex Bedard (Amherst, N.H.) and Ewing.
• The Bates men opened Saturday morning's session with a dominating win in the 200 medley relay, as Ewing, Bedard, Pender and Depew finished in 1:34.40, well ahead of runner-up Bowdoin (1:38.23).
• Bedard set the meet record in the 50 breast at 26.47 seconds, with Pender second (26.62). He also touched the wall first in the 100 breast (58.15) and placed second in the 200 breast (2:12.25).
• Ewing won the 50 fly (23.47), the 50 backstroke by a 1.48-second margin (23.83), the 400-yard individual medley (4:14.04), the 100 back by a 2.38-second margin (51.87), and the 200 back by a 4.65-second margin. Ewing also was the runner-up to Bowdoin's Drew Macdonald in the fly by 0.12 seconds in a time of 2:00.17.
• Junior Rory Collins (Brookfield, Conn.) led a 1-2-3-4-5 Bates sweep in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:45.96. Depew was second in 1:46.07.
• Sophomore Alexander Ignatov (Trumbull, Conn.) was the runner-up in the 400 IM (4:14.55), the 1,000 free (16:56.03) and the 500 free (4:47.46).
• Pender won the 50 free (21.33), the 100 free (46.77), the 100 fly (52.66) and the 100 IM (53.27).

"The most impressive part was watching the team take out races aggressively and finish with speed - showing off their confidence and endurance," Casares said after Friday's session.
The Maine State Meet was Bates' last one before its annual training trip to Deerfield Beach, Florida. There they will race against NESCAC rival Williams College in a dual meet on Dec. 20.

HS Girls, Boys Swimming: Waterville & MCI Season Overview

Waterville, Maine - The following is a overview of the upcoming Waterville, MCI Boys and Girls Swimming season.. Their first regular season match is December 8th, 2015 against Mt. Ararat.

Waterville Boys Swimming

Coaches:  Bob Johnston (21st year) Ruth Jones (assistant - 19th year) Sam Lyons (assistant – 2nd year)

Last season: 5th in Class B KVAC, 12th at Class B States.

Top returners:  Alan Baez (Sr., sprint freestyle, butterfly);  Spencer Jones (Jr., I.M., freestyle);  John Reisert (So., free and IM);  Matt Redman (So., backstroke); Braden Noonan (So., free and breaststroke).

Key newcomers:  Carter Jones (Fr., fly and IM); Isaiah Bernier (Fr., back and free)

Outlook:   Upperclassmen Alan Baez, Spencer Jones and John Reisert bring experience and talent to the team.  Matt Redman and Braden Noonan look to improve on their freshman seasons.  Two fast freshman, Carter Jones and Isaiah Bernier, will help fill some holes.  At last year’s State meet the Waterville boys won the Class B Swimming MPA Sportsmanship award

Coach’s comment:   “It is a small but talented group.  The experienced swimmers will help us win a number of meets.  We are sharing pool time with the Winslow team this season.  Competition in practice will only help swimmers from both teams get faster.”

Waterville Girls Swimming

Coaches:  Bob Johnston (21st year) Ruth Jones (assistant - 19th year) Sam Lyons (2nd year)

Last season:  4th in Class B KVAC, 16th in Class B States

Top returners:   Isabelle Labbe (Sr., breaststroke, I.M.); Kathryn Bernier (Sr. freestyle); Machaela Laramee (Sr., freestyle); Hanna Bouchard (Jr., breaststroke, I.M.); Olivia Jones (Jr., I.M. and butterfly);  Clio Bazakas (So., IM & breaststroke); Natalia Fuentes (So., free); Alissah Paquette (So, free); Kristina Plante (So., breaststroke & free); and Sofie Weston (So., free & backstroke).

Key newcomers:   Sarah Barre (Fr., free & breaststroke); Leah Shoulta (Fr., IM & backstroke); Molly Wasilewski (Fr., free & fly); Randi Gurski (Fr., free); Kailene Isbell (Fr., free), and Julia Fortin (Fr., free).

Outlook:  Team looks much improved over last season with a healthy increase in the number of experienced swimmers.  Seniors Bernier, Labbe and Laramie will pace the team after their solid season last year.  Junior Hanna Bouchard and Sophomore Clio Bazakas should be competitive in the breaststroke and IM again this year.  Freshman Leah Shoulta (backstroke), Molly Wasilewski (fly) and Sarah Barre (breaststroke) show a lot of promise.

At the Class B State swim meet last February the Waterville girls earned the MPA Sportsmanship award.

Coach’s comment:  “It should be an exciting year for Waterville swimming with a nice boost in numbers.  A few of the swimmers coming up from Coach Hoffman’s junior high program should really help us.”

Maine Central Institute Boys Swimming
Two boys from MCI have joined the small group of kids coming down every day to swim with Waterville and Winslow.  Alex Krechko and Billy Wu are first-year swimmers but show some real promise.

Maine Central Institute Girls Swimming
Mikalya Carr (Sr., backstroke & freestyle) from Maine Central Institute will be swimming with Waterville again this year.  She was a state meet qualifier last season.  Joining Mikayla will be Chelsea Degenhardt, Megan Simeone, Anna Simeone and Micaela Simeone.

Maine Beaches: Open for Swimming

*-The number of exceedances were up slightly in 2013 but overall Maine's beaches were clean and open over 95 percent of the time -*

AUGUSTA, Maine - With summer officially here this weekend, residents and tourists alike can be assured that Maine's beaches are routinely monitored to protect public health and almost always open for swimming.

"I welcome both Maine residents and visitors to our coast and to feel confident that Maine's beaches are clean, safe and open for swimming," said Governor Paul R. LePage. "Maine's iconic coastline draws thousands of visitors each year who appreciate that Maine's beaches are some of the cleanest in the country. On behalf of the Healthy Beaches program, I want to thank beachgoers for their care and stewardship of Maine's beaches."

The department-run Maine Healthy Beaches Program receives funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and staff support from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension to monitor water quality at Maine's 55 public access beaches. In addition to monitoring, MHB staff delivered 36 technical trainings for 159 local staff and volunteers.

Program volunteers, municipal officials and state park employees collect samples which are analyzed for the

FRANKLIN EARNS FIRST OLYMPIC MEDAL

Missy Franklin and Matt Grevers earned a spot atop the podium Monday (July 31), re-writing
the record books while claiming gold in the women’s and men’s 100-meter backstroke
events. Franklin’s time of 58.33 was an American record, while Grevers’ touched the wall in
an Olympic record-time of 52.16.
Overall, the U.S. swam away with four medals on the third night of competition at the Aquatic
Centre, with Nick Thoman and Rebecca Soni picking up silvers in the men’s 100 backstroke
and the women’s 100 breaststroke.
So far, the U.S. has collected 12 medals in London, marking a total of 500 Olympic medals
in the pool since the advent of the modern Olympic Games in 1896. The next closest team,
Australia, has accumulated a total of 153 medals. Franklin’s gold medal-winning performance
helped the U.S. realize that legacy on Monday.
“I’ve dreamed about this moment my whole life,” Franklin said. “I can’t believe it just happened.
I just can’t put it into words. It’s absolutely indescribable. After imagining it happening
for so long, it’s unbelievable.”
Franklin’s time bettered the previous American record of 58.95, which she set at last month’s
U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Monday’s swim also marked the third straight time an American
woman has won the 100 backstroke at the Olympic Games. Teammate Natalie Coughlin
won the event in 2004 and 2008.
Franklin’s win came on the heels of a tough double. She also swam in the semifinals of the
women’s 200 freestyle – just 13 minutes before the start of the 100 backstroke – qualifying
eighth for tonight’s finals.
“I love doing back-to-back doubles like that,” Franklin said. “It’s fun. I don’t have time to get
nervous.”
In the men’s 100 backstroke, Grevers was in control the whole way, overcoming a five-hundredth-
of-a-second deficit to France’s Camille LaCourt at the turn and powering his 6 foot,
7 inch frame home for the win. His teammate Thoman was sixth at the wall and crept up on
the field for the silver in 52.92.
“I kind of saved my legs on the first 50 to make sure I had a good dolphin kick off that wall,”
Grevers said. “I don’t think it’s hit me yet. I feel great right now and just want to share it withmy whole family.”
This marks the second straight Games that Americans have gone 1-2 in the men’s 100 backstroke.
Grevers won silver in the event at the 2008 Games behind teammate Aaron Peirsol,
who set the former Olympic record at 52.54.
“I thought it was really cool,” Thoman said. “The first thing I wanted to do was give him a big
hug, so I jumped over the lane rope and gave him one.”
Soni swam her typical race in the women’s 100 breaststroke. Touching sixth at the wall, she
separated herself from most of the field and closed the gap on leader Ruta Meilutyte in the
final 50 meters. In the end, she ran out of room, and Meilutyte out-touched Soni for the gold
by eight-hundredths of a second, 1:05.47 to 1:05.55. Fellow USA teammate Breeja Larson
placed sixth in 1:06.96.
Soni also won silver in the event at the 2008 Games. Monday marked the first time since
then that she lost the race at a major international competition. Still, her performance was her
fastest time this year.
“I thought I was in good enough position to win,” Soni said. “I was close but no cigar. I can’t
say I was completely satisfied because it was so close, and I gave it my all. I’m just happy to
get on the podium for Team USA.”
Heading into the Games, the men’s 200 freestyle was billed as one of the most competitive
fields of the meet. It lived up to the hype.
France’s Yannick Agnel, the hero of last night’s men’s 4x100 freestyle, jumped out to an early
lead, leaving the rest of the pack to jockey for position through the last 50 meters. Lochte
was in second for a time, but the rest of the field moved up on him coming down the homestretch.
Agnel took gold in 1:43.14, while Lochte finished fourth in 1:45.04, marking the first
swimming final where the U.S. walked away without a medal in these Games.
Americans swimming in semifinals Monday included Allison Schmitt in the women’s 200
freestyle (2nd, 1:56.15); Missy Franklin in the women’s 200m freestyle (8th, 1:57.57); Michael
Phelps in the men’s 200 butterfly (4th, 1:54.53); Tyler Clary in the men’s 200 butterfly (5th,
1:54.93); Caitlin Leverenz in the women’s 200 IM (3rd, 2:10.06) and Ariana Kukors in the
women’s 200 IM (4th, 2:10.08). The top-eight swimmers in each event will compete in tomorrow
night’s finals.