Mark Muthersbaugh (So.) and Laura Fries (Fr.) boasted strong performances in the second day of the Wooster Invitational

December 1, 2006 -- Day two at the College of Wooster Invitational went just as well as day one for the Oberlin College swim team - all-time Oberlin times were challenged, lifetime bests were recorded, and the entire team showed marked improvement. The Yeomen and Yeowomen couldn't be peaking at a better time, as after the winter break and a training trip to Florida, they will compete in four dual meets, the Kenyon Invitational, and the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships.

For the men tonight, sophomores Mark Muthersbaugh and Scott McInerney put in excellent swims. Muthersbaugh set a lifetime-best in the 200-freestyle, placing 15th in a time of 1:54.93. McInerney continued to be a strong competitive force in the sprints by finishing the 100-yard butterfly in second place (52.67). After entering the race with a seed time of 56.29, McInerney destroyed the field in the preliminaries by recording a time of 52.12, the fastest time of the day in the event. Also showing great improvement was first-year Dan Holm, who notched a lifetime best in the 100-breaststroke (1:04.98).

Senior co-captains Emily Spence and Kate Boyd, and first-year Laura Fries paced the Yeowomen with outstanding individual efforts. Spence put in an Oberlin all-time top-five time in the 100-yard butterfly by touching the wall in 1:02.85 in the prelim's in the morning. She placed eighth in the evening with a time of 1:03.01. After swimming a time of 5:10.11 in the 400-yard individual medley prelim's, Boyd improved by over eight seconds in the finals by recording a time of 5:01.83. Her effort tonight was the sixth-fastest time in the finals and was also an Oberlin all-time top-five time. First-year Laura Fries added on to an already solid debut season for the Yeowomen by placing sixth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:02.44). Her preliminary time of 1:02.17 was an Oberlin all-time top-five time and also a lifetime best.

Another highlight for the women's team was the 800-freestyle relay team of Spence, first-year Shannon Gallagher, junior Kiri Ulmschneider, and sophomore Bryne Ulmschneider. The group placed fourth and earned the team 52 points by finishing the race in 8:18.22, good for the second-fastest time in school history.

"For the second straight day, we had good swims again and I'm very proud of our team's effort," Head Coach Mark Fino said. "It's great to see a lot of the things that we've worked so hard on all season pay off and come together."

Added Fino, "We're starting to show some fantastic swims, and the team is really beginning to compete with a lot of heart."

The Yeoswimmers will return to Wooster tomorrow for the final day of competition at the three-day invitational.

Day Two Results | Team Scores Through Day Two (.pdf)