March 24, 2006

MC Swim Club has record-setting first meet at home

By CHRISTINA MORITZ
cmm002@marietta.edu

History has been made. The Marietta College Swim Club held their first swim meet Wednesday, March 8, 2006 at the Marietta YMCA.

After the meet was cancelled against Ohio University, Coach and Advisor Bill Bauer turned to his friends at the Y and asked to hold the meet there. The Y agreed and OU made the voyage to Marietta.

Members of the college faculty were very supportive of the Y and Fred Smith, who were gracious enough to run the timing and starting systems despite the short notice. Assistant Coach, Paul Seyler-Schmidt, a former swimmer of Bauer, also encouraged their swimmers to compete for times. The intramural meet was completed in about 45 minutes and was altered in comparison to a typical competition to include only 50 and 100 meter sprints. Despite the meet’s changes, the enthusiasm never faltered.

Butterflies were turning in the stomachs’ of 13 swimmers as they took to the water to warm up. For the girls, Lindsey Green, Christina Moritz, Heather Boomer, and Megan Bartley swam backstroke. They swam neck and neck with Green finishing on top.

Swimming breaststroke for the Pioneers was Sara Duplessis and Meryl Baker. Baker placed ahead of Duplessis in their heat. The butterfly portion of the meet met its match with Megan Bartley, Karl Biermann and Ben Bartoczek. Biermann finished in first.

In the 50-meter freestyle, Elizabeth McDougall, Christina Moritz, Lindsey Zettle, and Rebecca Donant had a heart-racing competition. Zettle finished at the top of the leader board again in the 100-meter freestyle.

With just enough swimmers, Steven Hagenan, Chris Gardiner, Ben Bartoczek, and Karl Biermann formed a relay team and made their marks in the record books.

A small crowd of college students gathered to watch the history in the making. Sophomore, Tricia Adkins said, “Watching the team swim really made me want to get in the water and swim. Their enthusiasm really is contagious.”

Mike Bishman, the Y’s Aquatics Director, finds that the college swim team has helped to build a better relationship with the Y. “The Y keeps growing, and we hope to continue to build stronger relations with the college through this team,” Bishman said.

With completion of the first inaugural meet, Bauer looks forward to bigger and better things. The team hopes to hold an intramural meet in April, possibly with Wheeling Jesuit. They hope to keep improving their times, which will carry into next semester. By then, they plan to compete with surrounding colleges and high schools.