As the Oberlin College fall sports teams are starting to wrap up their seasons, the swimming and diving teams are just getting their feet wet.
The aquatic Yeomen and Yeowomen opened their season last Saturday with the North Coast Athletic Conference Relay Meet, hosted by perpetual Division III swimming champion Kenyon College. Both teams placed seventh.

There have been big changes for both teams since last year, although in opposite directions.

“Our women’s team is down a lot this year,” coach Dick Michaels said, “and we just didn’t get the [recruitment] numbers this year.”

Oberlin lost 10 women swimmers to graduation last year, including Celeste Mercer, who had been a national qualifier. The departure of the highly talented class of 2002, combined with a small recruitment year and the decision of some recruits not to swim, has left the women’s team weaker than it has been in the recent past.

Because the level of competition in the NCAC is so high — it is the premier Division III conference for swimming — “our ability on the women’s side to beat other teams is down,” Michaels said.

However, “on the men’s side we’re much better than we’ve been recently,” Michaels said, noting that both the numbers and the talent were up.

Among the key returners from last year is junior Burt Betchart, who has come very close to national qualification is his first two seasons. This year Burt will be joined by his younger brother, first-year Craig Betchart. Michaels projects that the younger Betchart could be as good as his brother.

Also continuing a family tradition is first-year Thomas Limouze, whose brother John [OC ’01] was a national qualifying swimmer for Oberlin. Michaels said that the younger Limouze has “possible national qualifying ability.”

Senior Todd Wedge and sophomore Joel Ketner will co-captain the team, while Nate Fey and Michael Pettersen are the team’s only other seniors.
Leading the women’s team will be junior captain Meagan Dumphy-Daly, junior Nicole Middaugh and sophomore Kim Davis.

“We’ll be happy at the end of the year if our guys get better,” Michaels said, noting that the ultimate goal for swimmers is improvement. “We may not beat very many people this year, but we’re going to have a hell of a good time.”