We set 14 pool records at that meet, wreaking havoc on their record board and winning the meet handily. We lost to Yale, Penn and Princeton over the next two weeks, but swam well in the loses. Against Army, we started off with a strong medley relay and never looked back, almost doubling Army's point total for our first EISL win in five years. President and Mrs. Wright were there for our victory and helped us to exceptional performances. Our last meet of the year against Harvard and Cornell came down to the last relay against Cornell, where we were touched out by less than .3 of a second. We had a triple winner in Tom Sanford that day though, swimming the breaststroke leg of our 400 medley relay, the 200 IM and setting a school record in the 200 breaststroke.  Not bad heading into championships.

At EISL Championships, we weren't able to take a full team to the meet due to finals beginning the day after we returned. The team that did travel to Long Island, NY to the Nassau County Pool performed spectacularly. We had ninety percent lifetime best swims at the meet. Highlights were Ryan Goldhahn '04 making the top eight and breaking an eleven year old school record in the 100 freestyle with a time of :45.12. John Reidy '06 in the 200 butterfly finishing 12th with a time of 1:50.96. And we finished off the meet with another school record in the 400 freestyle relay of Goldhahn, Kemper Diehl '06, Reidy and co-captain Louis Fidel '03 in a time of 3:03.99. Despite not having our school record holding breaststroker nor any divers at the meet, the team swam very well.

Our three seniors leave Dartmouth for the "real world": Paul Schned will be working for Lehman Brothers in New York City, Louis Fidel starts the Bridge Program at the Tuck School this summer and Louis Trotman will be moving to New York.

AWARDS:  Our John C. Glover '55 Swimming Trophy this year was awarded to Michael Hipps '05. The Karl B. Michael Swimming Award went to Ryan Goldhahn '04. The Outstanding Freshman Swimming award was won by John Reidy '06. And the Paul E. Tsongas Most Improved Award went to Brandon Piper '06. 

MEN'S TRAINING TRIP:  Our annual winter training trip this year was to St. Lucia in the West Indies. We were the first US college team to train on the island, and the people treated us like celebrities. We had a great 25-meter eight-lane training pool that was ours whenever we wished to train (even at 4 AM the day we departed). We got a chance to do a Castries Bay swim from one side of the bay to the other, dodging the jet skis all the while and to explore some of the old forts on the  outer points of the island. We spent a day at Scuba St. Lucia doing some underwater oceanographic work or mountain biking and another day touring the whole north coast of the island on our own catamaran.

Men's team enjoyed the beaches of  St. Lucia during their Winter training trip.

A highlight of the trip was swimmer Nick Baum's uncle hosting us on one of his five-mast schooner ships for a tour. The team had a wonderful time and got in some incredibly hard training while we were at the Rodney Bay facility. It was a trip to remember. Below is an  excerpt from a diary written by a couple of the '06s:

"12/16 Monday - After morning workout, a majority of the team made its way over to the beach to enjoy the St. Lucian sun.

"I'm either going to jail, hell, or both." - Scott Trubisz

Many of us swam out to a raft off the coast and took part in an 05-06 battle for the raft. The 05's got a few good shots in, but the 06's were victorious.

That afternoon Jim gave us a bit of a break, allowing the diving-challenged (Kemper Diehl) to work on starts, and the breaststroke-challenged to work on breaststroke under the watchful eye of star breaststroker Tom Sanford."

For a complete accounting of our trip, click on: www.dartmouth.edu/~aquatics/mswim/training.htm

SEASON REVIEW- THE WOMEN
The 2002-03 season was a wild ride, and an unqualified success. Twenty-six swimmers and divers continued the legacy of Dartmouth Swimming and Diving.

The women posted five dual meet wins. The first came in the fall against UVM. Following the announcement of the program's elimination the next day, the challenge came to make sure the UVM win was not our last. The expression "rising to the challenge" was exemplified by the team. In addition to their commitment to explore every avenue to reinstate the program, the swimmers and divers stayed committed to training. The first fruits of their tenacity were two dual meet wins on training trip, against host Hawaii and visiting Central Washington University.

With fall term and winter training conditioning, we were ready for the winter dual meet season. As we loaded the bus for Middlebury, our dean and athletic director delivered the good news that our program was reinstated. We went on a winning spree, beating Middlebury and winning the 4-team University of Rhode Island Invitational. Our final win came, fittingly, at home. The Army dual was the last home meet for the seniors, and a gathering of our alums, families and friends to celebrate the reinstatement of our programs. The day belonged to the Big Green, winning both sides of the combined dual meet.

Having lost a squeaker of a dual meet to Cornell, we went into The Ivy Championships hoping to avenge the loss. Every team member did her part in amassing enough points to beat Cornell. In the process, four new varsity records were set. Freshman Nicole Zarba's name is up on the board in the 1000 (10:22.19) and 1650 (17:16.46) Freestyle, and sprinter Lauren Gilhooly '04 led off the 400 Free Relay with a varsity record 51.91 while leading teammates Cary Telander, Kristin Simunovich and Jenny Kunkel to a new team record, 3:30.93. Emily Barsky saw post-season action at the NCAA Zone Championships, earning All-America Academic honors. Check out the enclosed All-Time Top Ten to see 28 new times and diving scores, including at least one entry on every swimming event.

So Long, Thanks and Good Luck to the Class of 2003! Seniors Mia Yocco, Emily Barsky, Maureen Ellinwood, Julie Kowalsky, Kala Sherman-Presser, and Karla Leavens at the Ivies. 

Jenny Kunkel, Cary Telander, Lauren Gilhooey, Kristin Simunovich set a new record for the 400 freestyle relay.

Our team banquet was a fun celebration of the season. Twenty-five names go into the archives as letter winners. Season award winners:

Outstanding Freshman: Nicole Zarba and Cary Telander
Outstanding Swimmer: Lauren Gilhooly and Jenny Kunkel
Ron Keenhold Outstanding Diver: Emily Barsky
Coach's Award: Dana Charles
Geer Award: Mia Yocco
Lutkus Award: Emily Barsky

2003-04 Team Captains: Lauren Gilhooly, Alexis Hawley, Priscilla Zee

We say good-bye to six seniors whose contributions will be long remembered and whose leadership will be missed. Julie Kowlasky and Karla Leavens will continue their educational pursuits: Julie is headed to medical school and Karla to graduate school. Maureen Ellinwood joins the business world in New York City. Mia Yocco, Emily Barsky and Kala Sherman-Presser will be teaching next year; Mia and Emily in the Marshall Islands.

The Women's Training Trip Travelogue: The short of it is, we had a great trip. The long of it follows:

Thursday, Dec 12: A 2:30 a.m. departure from Hanover, a smooth day of travel and sunshine to greet us in Honolulu got us off to a fine start. After settling into our University of Hawaii dorm that would be our home away from home for the next ten days, we headed to the pool for our first workout. 6,000 meters to get us going!

Friday, December 13: Two workouts with a trip to Sandy Beach in between.

Certainly a change from a good ol' Hanover winter, divers Dan Olsen, Mike Tanana, Emily Barsky, Kate Brodie, Erin Bingham, and Laura Detwiler enjoy Hawaii's warm weather and breathtaking landscape.

Saturday, December 14: A Big Day for the Big Green. Morning workout was a team biathalon at Ala Moana Park. Dartmouth fielded 11 teams of 2 _ one runner who covered the 2.5 mile course around the park and a swimmer teammate who took to the ocean for the 1500 meter swim. The Dartmouth gang swept their age group with the team of Lauren Gilhooly and Jenny Kunkel claiming the top spot. Back to the pool for afternoon workout, but not before a trip to Beach #2 , Hanama Bay, for snorkeling and tanning _ and a trip to the Emergency Room for Alexis Ettinger who was bitten by an eel! The ER docs gave her the OK to join her teammates for an evening visit to Waikiki where the shopping began!

Sunday, December 14: After a long morning workout, a day of exploration with a trip to the North Shore to see the big waves and check out yet another beach.

Monday, December 15: A day of double workouts, with a trip to Pearl Harbor in between _ a visit that is both somber and inspiring.

Tuesday, December 16: After morning workout and breakfast, we loaded the vans and headed to Kailua for afternoon workout and beach # 4: Kailua Beach. After dryland in the sand and open water swimming with sea turtles, we walked to the Simunovich home where we were treated to barbequed salmon and Hawaiian treats.  

The swimmers' biathalon teams 
make waves in Ala Moana Park.

Wednesday, December 17: A long morning workout to put in the day's yardage and diving lists and an outing to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Big Green swimmers and divers did it all: Outrigger rides, hula lessons, Tonga drumming, a luau and a show from seven Polynesian Islands.

Aloha! Women's team and men divers at the home of the Changs.

Thursday, December 18: The day of our dual meet with host University of Hawaii and other visiting schools with whom we shared training space: University of Cincinnati, Oregon State University and Central Washington University. After morning workout, we had a perfect pre-meet lunch hosted by the parents of men's team member Grant Chang. Our excellent meal and wonderful time laid the groundwork for wins against Hawaii and Central Washington.

Friday, December 19: Our last double with our traditional 50 x 100 the main set of the afternoon. Waikiki was the beach of the day with the braver trying their hand at surfing, and the shoppers hitting the swap meet at Aloha Stadium. Our team holiday dinner ended the day and our last evening in Hawaii.

Saturday, December 20: Our last morning workout! Lunch with the Dartmouth Club of Honolulu and yes, one more beach _ Makapuu _ before we headed for the airport and all points home.

THANKS FOR HELPING MAKE OUR TRIPS POSSIBLE!!

All-America Academic Honors  - Continuing the tradition of excellence in the classroom as well as the pool, the Dartmouth men's and women's teams received team All-Academic recognition for both Fall and Winter Terms. Both teams ranked 8^th in the nation for Division I schools for fall term.

To keep in touch with the goings on of Dartmouth Swimming and Diving, check out our web site: www.dartmouth.edu/~aquatics/