This weekend, the Cornell women’s swim team finished its league competition, which culminated in the Ivy Championship meet. The meet lasted three days and while the Red finished in seventh, the team left with five new school records and countless highlights from the weekend.
While head coach Patrick Gallagher said seventh place is not where the team necessarily wanted to finish, both him and senior Jenna Immormino left the weekend feeling satisfied and excited about the results.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” Immormino said about the weekend. “We were in eighth up until the last day, and the fact that we were able to come out ahead of Dartmouth demonstrates our superb teamwork and determination.”
Junior Currie Murch Elliot was one of the shining stars this weekend for the Red, setting two records in one day in both the 1000 free and the 400 IM. While Elliot had a tremendous weekend, Gallagher said there were many other swimmers performed well this weekend.
“Cari Stankaitis coming back from her injury to place sixth in the 100 free was another great swim,” he said. “Kimmy Vitek placed in the consolation final on the 1-meter which is a great accomplishment for her first time at the meet.”
Sophomore Micaela Luders also had an impressive showing, winning the C final in the 200 free in her first Ivy Championship.
“[Luders] led off the meet with an amazing race that earned her a spot in the A final,” Immormino said. “I’m really proud of all the work she has done.”
While Gallagher has been preparing the team all season leading up to this meet, he explained that in the Championships, the coach’s job is to just sit back and take care of the little things that come up.
“If the season goes as planned, our job as coaches is to stay out of the way for this meet,” he said. “There are always little things to take care of, but when they prepare the way this team this season, it is fun to sit back and watch them race.”
While none of the swimmers qualified for a spot in the NCAA Championships, it is still possible for the divers on the squad to qualify when they compete in two weeks at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships.
Additionally, some of the swimmers on the team will be competing to make the Olympic Trial cuts. However, for the rest of the squad, this meet marked the end of the 2015-16 swim season.