Athletics
Game Summaries
Swim Season 2008
EWS 83–Ravena 91
After a long two weeks of preseason, the 2008 varsity swim season got under way when the team traveled to Ravena. Ravena was a much improved team over last year and gave the Jesters a fight. Scoring went back and forth throughout the meet until Ravena pushed ahead after they outscored Emma 13-3 in the 100 Backstroke.
Overall the Jesters are a solid team, and there is much to be excited about in the coming season. Freshmen Andrea and Celeste have filled in nicely by both qualifying for the Section II Championships during their first meet with the team. Andrea qualified in the 100 Fly and 200 Freestyle. Celeste qualified for the Sectional meet in the 100 Freestyle and 100 Breaststroke. Returning junior Emily qualified in the 50 Free and 100 Free while setting her up for personal bests during the season in both events. Sophomore Anna B returned to the team after having put in some summer swimming to qualify for the Sectional meet in the 200 IM and the 100 Breaststroke. All four of these swimmers contributed to their first place finish in both the 200 Medley and 200 Freestyle relays. Overall the coaching staff was very pleased with the performance of the team. Many swimmers, including Sara C, Lei, Anna M, Kate, and Annie, dropped time in their events.
The team has seven days of practice before they take on their next opponent, Albany High, at home.
EWS 86–Albany High 90
The Jesters took to their home pool this afternoon for a difficult meet against Aqua League opponent Albany High. Although Emma lost, there were many notable swims. Emily improved her 50 Free and 100 Free times to season bests, and she was an integral part of both the 200 Medley and 200 Free Relays. Sophomore Helen, new to the team this year, surprised the entire coaching staff with her 30 second time in the 50 Free. Annie and Sara C both dropped time in their 50 Free, while Ceren managed to qualify for the Section II Championship meet in the 100 Backstroke. Ceren also swam a 1:06.84 in the 100 Freestyle, which is a qualifying time for that event. In her first meet of the season, Victoria swam a 7:13.74 in the 500 Freestyle. Kara dropped 10 seconds in her second swim of the season in the 500 Freestyle. Overall the team looks good, but continues their struggle for their first victory of the season. The team will be back at practice on Thursday to work on relay starts, turns, and finishes. They will take on Schenectady at home on Friday.
EWS 80–Schenectady 98
Emma lost another well fought battle today, falling 98 to 80 to Aqua League opponent Schenectady High. One of the greatest moments of the day was when Annie won her individual exhibition heat in the 50 Free with another drop in time to 37.58. She then followed up with an anchor leg in the 400 Freestyle Relay that secured a third place finish for her team. Another fantastic moment was when Emily swam a 26.96 in the 50 Free and then broke a minute in the 100 Freestyle (59.63). Her time of 26.96 catapults her into 21st place in the 50 Free in all of Section II Swimming. The 200 Freestyle Team of Andrea, Anna B., Ceren, and Emily also are within 3 seconds of breaking the team record for that event. Victoria dropped 12 seconds in two days in her 500 Free and is on the verge of breaking seven minutes. Anna M. dropped 4 seconds in the 200 Freestyle and is moving steadily towards qualifying for the Section II Championships in that event. Overall the team continues to fight hard during each meet. As a fairly young team the Jesters continue to improve and are realizing their potential both as individuals and as a team. Emma will be back in the pool on Monday and Tuesday for practice and then travel to arch-rival Albany Academy for Girls on Wednesday.
EWS 84–AAG 93
Emma lost another close meet today. Although the team had a few days of good practice, the Jesters just couldn’t seem to put all the pieces together. Emily continued her solid season with a 59.50 in the 100 Free. Victoria dropped below 7 minutes in the 500 Free for the first time in her swimming career by dropping over 10 seconds in the event. She continues to work towards her goal of qualifying for the Section II Championship meet. Ceren had an outstanding swim in the 100 Back with a time of 1:15.44. Clara swam her first event of the season and surprised everyone with a 33.98 in a 50 Free exhibition. The team is back at practice tomorrow in preparation for their cross-town rival, Troy at home on Friday.
EWS 82–Troy 93
Emma lost their hardest meet of the season. Every swimmer did their best today, but the team continues to fall short. One of the highlights of this meet was when Chelsea contributed 6 points to the team when she finished first without any failed dives. Helen reached her season goal of breaking 30 seconds in the 50 Free with a time of 29.30. This qualified her for the Section II Championship meet. Lei dropped over 15 seconds in her 500 Free to finish with a personal best, 7:09.41. The entire team worked together to try to overcome an early 12-2 deficit, but Troy was just a little too much for the Jesters to handle on this day. Emma will take to the pool for four days of practice before traveling to Amsterdam on Friday. The team is still seeking their first win of the 2008 season, but they’re not giving in until the final meet.
EWS 85–Amsterdam 89
Emma was defeated on Friday in their closest meet of the season. After traveling almost an hour to Amsterdam, the Jesters started off the meet only down 2 points having finished second and third in the 200 Medley Relay. After a surprising 1, 2 finish in the 200 Free by Andrea and Lei, the Jesters found themselves with a 4-point advantage. Anna B finished second in the 200 IM and then Emily, Ceren (who qualified for Sectionals with a 29.20), and Helen followed up with a 2, 3, 4 finish in the 50 Free. Emma led by 4. With no divers competing this week, Emma gave 10 unanswered points to Amsterdam and was quickly behind by 6 points. When Helen finished third in the 100 Butterfly with a Sectional qualifying time of 1:19.77, the Jesters were roaring back. Emily, Anna B, and Anna M (who qualified for Sectionals with 1:09) swept the 100 Free with a 1, 2, 3 finish and Emma led by 4 again. Victoria, Lei, and Kara all had personal bests for the season in the 500 Free; however, Amsterdam regained the lead after this event. Emma’s A and B 200 Free Relay teams managed a 1, 2 finish and put the team ahead by 8 points. In the next three events, Emma was outscored 29–17 and fell to Amsterdam. Each of the girls on our team should be proud of how they did against Amsterdam.
Emma takes to the pool for practice on Monday looking to rebound from a very tough loss. The swim season is the longest of the fall sports seasons at Emma, and the girls are doing everything they can to stay strong throughout. The coaching staff continues to see improvements across the board, but much hard work lies ahead for the team. At the midway point, Emma has qualified 7 swimmers for the Section II Championship meet, 6 of whom are qualified in two events and 2 of which are qualified in 4 events. Five other Jester swimmers are within striking distance of their Sectional qualifying time.
EWS 77–Schenectady 98
The Jesters couldn’t come away with a win against Schenectady today. Although each member of the team that participated in the meet did well, Emma continues to struggle for their first win of the year. Standout freshman Andrea secured another Section II Championship qualifying time; this time it was the 500 Freestyle in 6:15.28. Andrea will have a decision to make regarding which events she will swim during the Sectional meet. Victoria is only .47 seconds away from securing her first career Sectional qualifying time in the 100 Breaststroke. Helen capitalized on another opportunity and sits about 4 seconds away from qualifying in the 100 Freestyle. All members of the team had a solid meet with no disqualifications. Emma takes to the pool in preparation for next week’s meets against Albany Academy and Troy with Ravena.
EWS 94–AAG 89
The Jesters pulled off what could be considered the biggest upset in program history. Emma, who never led during the meet until it was over, came back from as many as 15 points down to beat Albany Academy for Girls 89 to 94.
Season bests were accomplished by 8 swimmers. Victoria is within .22 seconds of qualifying for the Sectional meet in the 500 Freestyle. Lei is within 1.33 seconds of qualifying in the 200 Free. Emily swam a career best 59.16 in the 100 Free. Ceren swam a season best 29.05 in the 50 Free, while Helen dropped 1.5 seconds in the 100 Butterfly. Anna B swam a season best 2:45.44 in the 200 IM, while Anna M had a season best 1:20.44. Yeon dropped almost 6 seconds in the 100 Fly to a career best 1:35.19. The Jesters added to their Sectional Qualifying members with Victoria in the 100 Breast with a time of 1:29.56. The key to the meet for Emma was twofold: 1. Never giving up by swimming their hardest in every event and 2. The relay teams managed to finish 1st and 3rd in two relays, while securing a 2nd and 3rd finish in the other relay. A quick glance at the score sheet would show an Emma team that slowly chipped away at a substantial lead through each event. The girls trailed by 2 points headed into the final event and managed a 1st and 3rd place finish to secure the win.
The Jesters take to the pool for practice tomorrow and then welcome Troy and Ravena on Friday for Parents’ Days.
EWS 58–Ravena 44
EWS 39–Troy 59
Parent Days welcomed a large crowd and two rival league schools, Ravena and Troy, for an exciting double dual meet. Emma figured out a way to win against Ravena while still giving Troy close races. One highlight of the meet was when Emily swam a personal best 58.74 in the 100 Free, which places her 24th among all swimmers in Section II for that event. Other positive notes for the Jesters continue to be Andrea, Anna B, Anna M, Celeste, Victoria, and Helen, who all continue to improve in their events. Emma continues to try to qualify as many swimmers as possible for the Section II Championship meet. Victoria and Lei are still working towards qualifying in either the 500 Free or the 200 Free. The Jesters take to the pool on October 29 to take on powerhouse Burnt Hills in preparation for Sectionals. Emma should continue to be proud of their accomplishments for each of the last five years they have won a minimum of two meets while swimming a difficult schedule.
EWS 61–Burnt Hills/Ballston Lake 114
Emma concluded their regular season on Wednesday against Section II powerhouse Burnt Hills. Although Burnt Hills was considerably better in almost every event, Emma was able to have a number of quality swims and should be proud of their effort. Lei secured a Sectional Qualifying time in the 100 Free, and Anna B. dropped time in one of her events. Overall every student on the team competed to the best of their abilities. The Jesters will send 7 swimmers to the Section II Championship meet on Nov. 6th and 8th, although 9 qualified. Emma finished the season with 2 wins and 9 losses. This has been their record for four of the last five years and the program continues to move forward in a positive way. Emily, Andrea, Anna B, Anna M, Celeste, Helen, and Victoria will represent Emma at the Section II Championship meet.
Section II Championships
The 7 Emma Willard swimmers who participated in the two day meet provided personal bests across in every event. Helen competed in the 50 Free and 100 Butterfly in her first year with the team. Although she didn’t make it to the finals, she provided the butterfly leg in the 200 Medley Relay, which swam a season best 2:15.91 to finish 9th overall. Anna B competed in the 100 Free and 200 IM and while she missed the cut-off time in both events, she had two very solid swims. Competition was very tough in both events. However, Anna B provided her best swim of the season in the 200 and 400 Free Relays, which finished 7th and 8th. Anna M dropped another second in her 100 Backstroke and provided the backstroke leg for the 9th place 200 Medley Relay. She did an excellent job! Celeste provided the anchor leg for the 200 Medley Relay while having a very consistent swim in the 100 Breaststroke (she dropped time as well). She also had a great swim in the 400 Free Relay that dropped nearly 8.5 seconds on Saturday. Victoria dropped 5 seconds in her preliminary swim in the 100 Breaststroke and turned out to be an integral part of the 200 Medley Relay. Andrea finished 13th in the 500 Free Relay with a time of 5:58.83. She surprised everyone at the pool when she was leading after the first 50 yards and then broke 6 minutes for the first time all season. It was a fantastic swim! Andrea then had to gather every last ounce of energy for the 200 Free and 400 Free Relays. She had an outstanding meet. Emily had personal best swims in both the 50 Free and 100 Freestyle. In the 50 Free she finished 11th overall, and in the 100 Freestyle she finished 6th overall. Her two individual events are the most competitive events at the meet and often, as was the case during this meet, tenths and sometimes hundredths of seconds separate each place. Emily was the anchor leg for both the 200 and 400 Free Relays.
Every member of the team who participated during this meet should be extremely proud of their accomplishments. Each relay team provided a season best time, and each Emma swimmer gave the best they had.
The swim team has the longest fall sports season and is one of the toughest teams to practice with for that amount of time (10 weeks). The coaching staff asks for each swimmer to succeed to the best of their individual abilities and these seven girls exemplify what the coaches look for in every member of their team. Each individual came together to work as a team, and they provided Emma with a 9th place team finish in Division II, Section II. Congratulations, to all who participated!
