Terriers Finish Fourth At America East Meet
February 17, 2001 | Women's Swimming & Diving
The Terrier women's swimming and diving team, with five of its top competitors sidelined by injuries or illness, closed out its 2001-02 season with an outstanding performance by finishing fourth at the America East championships that were hosted by the University of Maine.
Northeastern University, which finished with 832 points, won its third straight team title during the three-day event. The University of New Hampshire was second with 694, followed, in order, by host Maine with 511 points; BOSTON UNIVERSITY, 466, Binghamton, 385; Stony Brook, 258; and the University of Vermont, 201.
"Certainly the injuries and illness hampered the team's final point total," said Terrier head coach Reagh Wetmore. "But, the women who did compete did an excellent job. They placed near or at the top in a number of events."
Freshman Lauren Foster (Lake Quivira, KS) was one of the team's top performers as she won the 500 freestyle with a conference record-breaking time of 4:59.89.
"Lauren swam an incredible race," said Wetmore. "She had three competitors within a foot of her for the entire race."
Foster also placed second in the 400 individual medley in an excellent time of 4:32.67, as her first- and second-place finishes accounted for 37 of the Terriers' team points.
Sophomore diver Stacey Gallacher (Horseheads, NY) finished second in both the one- and three-meter diving events. In the one-meter dive, she scored 277.80 points while her point total in the three-meter event was 471.45. Her two second-place finishes provided 34 points to the Terriers' total.
Junior captain Karissa Lopez (Santa Fe, NM) took second in the 200-yard individual medley in a time of 2:08.74. She also finished fifth in the 100 butterfly in :58.23 and was third in the 200 fly in 2:07.42. Other top performers for the Terriers included junior Ingrid Salazar (Simi Valley, CA), who was second in the 1650 with a time of 17:44.77 and junior Laurie Green (St. John's Newfoundland), who was third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.63 and fourth in the 200 breaststroke in 2:24.18.
"One of the best overall performances we had during the meet came in the 800 freestyle relay," said Wetmore. "It was an outstanding overall performance by our four swimmers, as they turned in the second-fastest time ever by a B.U. team in this event."
Freshman Emily Moreno (Oakland, NJ) led off this year's relay effort with a 200 time of 1:58.00. She was followed by Ingrid Salazar who was timed in 1:59.74 for her 200 leg. Karissa Lopez followed with a 1:54.76, while Lauren Foster swam the anchor leg in 1:52.66.
The combined time of 7:45.38 earned the Terriers a second-place finish, and it was less than four seconds off the school record of 7:41.67 set in 1988.
"We also got an outstanding performance from our 400 medley relay team," said Wetmore. "In particular, Karissa Lopez and Lauren Foster turned in excellent split times in their events."
Lopez swam the 100 butterfly in :56.77, which was the fastest butterfly split done by a Terrier, while Foster anchored the relay with a :53.30 in the 100 freestyle. As a team, the Terriers turned in a 3:56.70 in the event, which placed them fourth.
The Terriers also finished fourth in the final event of the meet-the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:35.94.
"It was an outstanding time," said Wetmore. "And, once again, we got excellent splits from all four of our swimmers."
Lopez started the relay off with a :53.61. She was followed by freshman Courtlandt McKinlay (Cheshire, CT), who turned in a :53.91. Moreno swam the third leg in :56.03, while Foster, who turned in her best split time of the year, anchored the relay with a :52.86.
"I was very proud with how the entire team performed during the entire Championships," the coach went on.
