The Geneseo Blue Wave took second place at the Ithaca Invitational on Friday Dec. 1 and Saturday Dec. 2, beating nine other teams.
Senior diver Samuel Randall earned the only first place finish for Geneseo, winning the one-meter dive. Senior swimmer Jeff Doser also competed well, finishing third in the individual 200 freestyle and second in the 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle and 400 medley relays.
For the women, freshman swimmer Lauren Siegel swam superbly, earning three individual top five finishes. She took fifth in the 200 independent medley, fourth in the 400 individual medley and third in the 100 backstroke. She also helped clinch second place in the 800 freestyle relay.
At first glance, it seems like the team underperformed compared to their dominant showing against Ithaca on Nov. 18, however, this invitational included Cornell University, a Division I team.
Head coach Paul Dotterweich believes the team swam very well and is pleased with their effort.
“I’m absolutely happy with the result last weekend,” Dotterweich said. “We had a great meet. Cornell won every single event besides the one-meter dive. They are just a far superior team—we certainly did not underperform.”
“I think the team actually swam faster at Ithaca this year than they did last year,” Siegel said. “But this year, Cornell brought their entire group and last year they only sent a small portion of their team.”
Siegel thought the level of competition was advanced from other teams too—not just Cornell.
This event was a crucial point in the season, according to Dotterweich.
“It pretty much wraps up the first half of the year. Our goal of the first semester is to swim fast at this meet, which is exactly what we did,” Dotterweich said. “Some swimmers even set lifetime bests. There are definitely some areas we can improve on, but it’s only December.”
Blue Wave now has a lengthy hiatus and will not compete again until Jan. 20. Even though the team is not swimming for the time being, this part of the season is vital for future success.
“This is a really important time for us,” Dotterweich said. “The way we train is key. We have a couple of weeks of voluntary practices, then a week at home. We’re back training on the 27th of December. Essentially, we drop down our level of practice before the Ithaca Invitational, then build it up again. The month of December is similar to preseason, but at a slightly higher level.”
It was a strong first half of the season for both the men’s and women’s teams. The men finished with a 3-2 record and the women are standing at 4-1.
Thus far Dotterweich has nothing but praise for his team.
“We have a lot of talent. Our women’s team is incredibly deep, so much so that deciding who will be on a relay is difficult. Depth is what wins championships,” Dotterweich said. “On the men’s side, we’re not quite as deep, but we have some real high end talent. Our first year athletes, as well as our returning ones, performed very well. We are in a good place heading into second semester.”u