Saint Mary's claimed its first win of the season on Saturday against the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Performers of the meet for the Belles were freshmen Sara Matesevic, Megan Medlock and Noreen Sherred, as well as sophomore Sarah Budd. All four women brought in top finishes for the 155-117 victory.
Sherred, Matesevic and Budd finished first through third, respectively, in the 1,000-yard freestyle, an especially strong accomplishment considering that none of them had ever participated in the event before. Budd also scored a first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, to add to the total of six first place spots that the Belles captured on Saturday.
Sophomore Nicole Korte took the top spot in the 50-yard freestyle, and junior Kelly Nelis finished first in the 500-yard freestyle. Sarah Nowak, also a junior, claimed first-place finishes, in both the 200-yard breaststroke and individual medley.
Medlock, who has been a valuable addition to the diving team, hit her head on the diving board on her fourth dive of the 1-meter, but still finished to take second place in the event.
Belles coach Gregg Petcoff was impressed with Medlock's mental recovery.
"A diver hits the board with her toes and she gets a little shaky," Petcoff said. "She hit it with her head, and she still dove in the 3-meter."
Medlock's ability to come back and still compete in the 3-meter competition gave Saint Mary's quite an edge. Medlock was able to take an uncontested first place in the event.
Saturday was certainly a good opportunity for the young Saint Mary's team to get a feel for competition at the collegiate level. After a difficult meet last week against Hope and Olivet, the team proved itself capable of working together and coming back in order to secure a victory against Rose-Hulman.
Nelis is pleased with the way that the mix of swimmers has been able to work together.
"We have a good group of first-years, they have clicked with the team really well," Nelis said.
The Belles will need to keep their momentum going for the challenge that will come up next week. Saint Mary's will face, among other teams, the 2004 Division III national champions, Kenyon College, at the Maroon D-III Invitational hosted by the University of Chicago.
