Parents showing baby pictures at a collegiate sporting event can be embarrassing. Luckily for the graduating seniors of the women's swimming and diving team, jumping into the pool fully clothed is sure to wash away some of that shame.
On a day dedicated to the graduating seniors, the Bulls lost 163-135 to cross-state rival Cornell Saturday, but the preceding ceremony, which ended with the seniors ceremoniously jumping into their home pool with all of their clothes on, helped lighten the mood.
"It's bittersweet," said senior Olga Wojcik. "I appreciate all four years here and it's been an amazing experience, but I'm also ready to move on and do other things with my life."
Wojcik competed in the 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke and the 400-yard freestyle relay. The senior placed second in all three events and kept the Bulls close to Cornell on the scorecards.
Buffalo got off to an excellent start winning the first event, the 200-yard medley relay. Freshman Rachel Sorg, junior Danielle Gervais, junior Kahla Walkinshaw and senior Jackie English combined for a time of 1:52.51, two seconds faster than the Cornell team.
Despite a losing effort that dropped Buffalo to 3-9 on the year, head coach Scott Vanderzell was surprised with how close the match ended up. He praised his team for what he considered an exceptional performance.
"To be honest, I expected Cornell to be a little tougher," Vanderzell said. "I know they were going for certain times in certain events, but our girls were just phenomenal today. If you looked at this on paper, it shouldn't have been as close as it was."
Cornell (3-8) ended up with first-place finishes in 10 out of the 16 events on the day. With first-place finishes receiving much heavier weight in scoring, the Bulls couldn't pull ahead, despite several second- and third-place finishes.
With the regular season over and only the Mid-American Conference Championship left on the schedule, Vanderzell admits that he has to start thinking about how the loss of this year's seniors will affect next year's team.
"The seniors leaving are going to be a huge loss to this team," Vanderzell said. "They are tremendous leaders who work extremely hard. I just hope the younger swimmers that watch them everyday, take notes and come back to use that work ethic and maybe become those kind of leaders next year."
Although the seniors may be graduating and the team is going to be losing leadership, some freshmen, such as Sorg, who tallied wins in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke against Cornell, provide hope for the Bulls in their future squads.
Continuing to reflect on her time spent in Buffalo over the last four years, Wojcik advises future female athletes not to take the prospect of being a swimmer lightly.
"Swimming is a really hard sport and it's difficult not to get burnt out," Wojcik said. "You have to stay strong, be persistent, and keep working. I've been here for four years and I'm finally happy with my times."
English said it is the experiences with her teammates that she will miss most when she leaves Buffalo behind.
"The best memories I have are of funny things like when we were sophomores and our bus never showed up so we hung out on deck for hours," English said. "Then there are the adversities, like working hard and getting through those difficult practices, but it's okay because you have your girls next to you."
The women's swimming and diving team next competes in the MAC Championship playoffs Thursday, Feb. 23 through Saturday, Feb. 25 at Akron, Ohio.
