The excitement builds in the humid, chlorine-saturated atmosphere as teams begin to take their first warm-up laps at the MIAC Conference Championship Swimming and Diving Meet. Fans steadily fill the stands to support their teams and athletes. Multi-colored bags and warm-ups litter the pool deck and individual teams cluster around the natatorium. Teammates and fans wave and cheer on their swimmers, distinguishable only by the uniquely emblazoned swim caps that bob up and down as they are propelled through the water. The fervor reaches near-hysterical levels as cheers reverberate off the water and walls and fill the whole building with noise during the final lengths of each event.

After all the crowds have gone and the water has settled, the Macalester men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have left the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center with a pair of outstanding performances. The women’s team placed fourth and the men’s team placed fifth as the Scots punctuated excellent seasons this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the MIAC Championship Meet. The women’s fourth-place finish equaled their best ever performance set at last year’s conference meet while the men’s fifth-place finish was one better than last year.

Head Coach Bob Pearson was extremely pleased with performances at the conference championships.

“On paper the women were supposed to finish fifth out of 11 teams and the men were supposed to finish eighth out of eight,” he said. “Swimming is not a spectator sport and they toil in anonymity a little bit, so it is exciting to see them have success. Both teams put together spectacular meets.” Pearson, who earned Women’s MIAC Coach of the Year honors for the third consecutive year said he was particularly proud of the work ethic the athletes showed throughout the season. “We have a very long season and everyone worked hard in practice and bought into the team concept. They’re really just a great group of individuals.”

Every year the conference championship brings out the best in each competitor and the Scots were up to the challenge. In the final meet of the season, Macalester swimmers and divers concluded the rigorous three-day championship with a number of personal and school records in addition to one diver being crowned Conference Champion.

Macalester women’s diver Liz Fitzgerald ’04 won the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions with final scores of 218.90 and 259.50. She ended the season winning 22 out of 23 total diving competitions. Fitzgerald is the third MIAC champion in the program’s history and was also named Conference Diver of the Year. Fitzgerald gives all the credit to her coaches for helping to get her prepared for the meet. “I really owe them a lot,” she said. “I had never dived before coming to Macalester and they taught me everything I know about diving. I put a lot of pressure on myself but the coaches just told me to relax and I was able to perform well.”

Fitzgerald and teammate Heather Lendway ’06 led the way for the women’s team at the conference meet. Lendway turned in outstanding individual performances earning her second place in both the 400-yard individual medley (4:41.08) and the 1650-yard freestyle (17:47.56) as well as a third place finish in the 500-yard freestyle (5:07.01). Although she had a successful regular season, Lendway was unsure of what to expect at the conference meet.

“I was pretty excited but definitely nervous before the meet,” she said. “There was some pressure to perform well and I would have felt like I let people down if I didn’t.” All three event times set new Macalester records and were fast enough for NCAA D-III provisional qualification.

Fitzgerald and Lendway were not the only contributors on the women’s side. First-years Nancy Taff and Jackie Deluca added valuable points for the Scots. Taff earned a third place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke and set a new school record with a time of 2:27.49 while Deluca took fourth in 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:57.43. On the men’s side, Bo Rydze ’05 took seventh place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions and Sjon Swanson ’05 and Chucky Baldner ’05 earned tenth place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle and 1650-yard freestyle respectively.