The Radcliffe swim team journeyed to Southern Connecticut State College this weekend to compete in the New England Championship. It came away with a surprisingly high tenth place finish out of a field of twenty four teams, with Springfield College winning the meet and the University of Maine taking second.
Freshman diver Kathy Lindenthal, who was the only team member to capture an individual event, led the pack in the three meter diving. She also placed second off the one meter board.
Coach Stephanie Johnson was extremely pleased with the team's performance. "Every swimmer did her best times of the season," she said. "Outside of a few petty protests, the meet was well run."
Radcliffe got to taste the sweetness of revenge, placing ahead of three teams which had beaten it in dual meets: U N H, Brown, and Dartmouth.
Laurie Downey finished second in the 100-yard backstroke, with at time of 1:02.59 and the 200--yard individual medley, clocked at 2:15.21. The sophomore sensation also took sixth in the 500 yard freestyle.
Both Radcliffe breaststrokers placed high in the standings. In the 50 yard event, Carol Moore nabbed thirteenth in 35:76 and Nancy Danoff splashed to sixteenth with the stop watch at 35:97. Moore also finished fifteenth in the 100--yard breaststroke.
The medley relay team of Downey, Moore, Sue Sawyer, and Elisabeth Farmer did an outstanding time of 2:04.17, its best of the season.
The Radcliffe swimmers are now aiming for the Eastern Championships, March 5 and 6, which will be held at the University of Pittsburgh.
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