Last weekend the Setters competed in the NE-10 Conference Championships, coming in fifth place after four days of competition (beginning Thur., Feb. 6 till Sun., Feb. 9).
The NE-10 swimming and diving coaches seemed to make the right prediction, picking Pace to finish fifth, with the Setters doing just that, while competing against eight other schools.
“The thing about that is that it was by a very narrow margin,” head coach Sean Raffile said.
The women’s team finished with 545 points, while fourth place St. Rose finished with 546 points. Bentley finished with 549 points, taking third place.
“I wanted for us to finish in third place, but I thought that we swam our best,” Raffile said. “We had some chances to move up in the race, but it was very difficult to take advantage of at times, though I thought the team responded very well.”
First place went to Assumption College with 818 points, followed by Southern Connecticut State with 684.
The men’s team also finished in fifth place with 364 points, with Southern Connecticut taking first place with 912.
Though swimming and diving are two sports in which athletes can fall into an individual mind-set, the Setters were able to go into the competition with a very team-oriented atmosphere, thanks in large part to Raffile.
“Our coach did a great job getting us motivated as a team going into NE-10’s,” said Kaitlyn Lynch, who was named the women’s division II swimming athlete of the week, after winning three gold medals at the NE-10 Championships.
“He was able to pull up stats and show us exactly where we ranked against other teams and let us know how well we could perform with the right attitude and perseverance. I have never seen us, myself included, so team-oriented going into a meet than this year’s conference meet. It was the best experience for me.”
Lynch had a record setting performance, as she broke a six-year record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.17, earning her one of her three gold medals.
That team-mindset Lynch mentioned could be seen in senior swimmer Derek Slayton. Although Slayton is “purely individual” at the beginning of the meet, he always enjoys hearing about how his teammates performed.
“I want to hear ‘I dropped x seconds!’ or ‘I’m this much faster than last year right now!’” Slayton said. “I love it, keeps everyone’s morale up. If someone is going for their best time, you can bet I’ll be there, rooting for them although sometimes I may not show it.”
Although fifth place might not have been the finish that Raffile wanted, the performance given by the Setters was one of their best yet, according to Lynch.
“I think our team has had its best performance in my four years here,” Lynch said. “We’ve never had that many members place in the A & B finals or had the excitement and motivation to compete. Compared to our previous years, this is a big accomplishment for us. I can only see greater things happening in the future for Pace Swimming and Diving.”
Raffile made sure he got the team energized by giving them some motivational talks before the meets.
“Since a lot of times we were meeting in the mornings, I really felt like we needed some more energy in order to really be able to place well in the finals, which were at night,” Raffile said. “We really got behind one another and it was really great to see a very team-oriented atmosphere. All the swimmers and divers were very encouraging, cheering and waving on their teammates throughout the meet.”
Slayton saw this year’s performance as “nothing short of inspiring, the true rise of underdogs.”
“We had many freshmen who did amazing jobs when stepping up to the plate under pressure,” said Slayton, who placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke on Day three of the Championships, breaking a school record with a time of 56.44. “I could not be more proud of my teammates. Every person in the A relay wants to end their career with records broken and my team gave me that.”
Trying to break others’ records can take over some people’s mindset, becoming all some people think about doing. But for Slayton, records don’t mean much; instead he chooses to focus on his own individual development.
“It was almost annoying to read sometimes because I didn’t break someone else’s hard earned record,” Slayton said. “I just kept progressing. I wish there were a tremendously fast time posted for the 100 and 200 breast record so that it would have motivated me more. But I think the times that I have posted won’t be broken for at least a few years or so. Throughout the year of course my main focus was the winner of the 100 and 200 Breast at NE10’s but I wasn’t going to let him get the best of me. Last year, which was my first at Pace, was embarrassing at Championships. The first place winner destroyed the competition with such ease. At least this year I made him work for it.”
The NE-10 Conference Championships, according to Raffile, “are the bench mark of the season”.
“It’s one meet, one week. It’s the big show where you truly test yourself to see where you are at the end of the season,” Raffile said.
The final meet of the season was held this past weekend, Sat., Feb. 15 till Sun., Feb. 16, with the Setters competing in the Metropolitan Championships.
A more individualistic type of competition, as opposed to the Conference Championships, which saw a lot of teamwork with the relay competitions, the Metropolitan Championships features a small group of eight to ten swimmers representing Pace.
“This is kind of our last chance meet,” Raffile said. “There are really no relays so it’s more about each individual trying to post their best times, so it’s kind of the individual championships.”