AMHERST, Mass. -- After a scuttled swim season in 2020-21, the Amherst College swimming and diving teams make their long-awaited return to the pool on Saturday, Nov. 20, hosting NESCAC rival Colby College for the first meet of the new season at Pratt Pool.
The Mammoths boast a rich history in the pool that includes 49 individual national champions and two alums named to the CSCAA's list of the 100 greatest college swimmers, but this season promises to be the most unpredictable yet with so much roster turnover for both the Mammoths and every other team since competition went dark in March 2020.
"Two-thirds of our team has never raced here before," said Amherst head coach Nick Nichols, in his 23rd season - not including last year's cancelled campaign. "It's been a year and a half since a lot of these kids have raced. We know we have some really capable kids and now we'll see if they can step up."
Both the men's and women's teams finished third at the 2020 NESCAC Championships, each qualifying a strong contingent for the NCAA Championships when the season was suddenly shut down.
The women's team will be captained by a trio of seniors in Marie Fagan, Julia Merrill and Caroline Needell. Fagan was one of 12 Amherst women to earn All-American honors in 2020, receiving the nod for both the 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard medley relay. The Mammoths boast three other returning All-Americans as junior Jessica Gordon was recognized in the 500-yard freestyle and both the 400-yard and 800-yard freestyle relays, where she was joined by sophomore Grace Tarantola in the latter relay.
One of Amherst's strongest events in recent years has been women's diving, where Lindsey Ruderman '21 swept the diving events at the national championships in 2019. While Ruderman has graduated, senior Hannah Karlin has been right behind, picking up All-American honors on both boards in 2020.
On the men's side, senior All-American Scott Romeyn will serve as a captain alongside classmate Malcolm Scannell. While the Mammoths placed eight student-athletes on the All-American team, only Romeyn returns from a senior-laden lineup. Romeyn has firmly established himself as one of the top sprinters in the NESCAC since he arrived at Amherst and earned the All-American nod in five events - the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle and three relay teams.
Nichols expects to see strength in the men's butterfly and breaststroke events as well, but it remains to be seen who will emerge in those events. "Kids are starting to swim well," said the coach. "But until they get up on the blocks and race, that's when we'll start to figure out if a really good high school swimmer is ready to go."
The Mammoths' meet with Colby kicks off a schedule of eight dual meets leading up to the NESCAC Championships to be held from February 17-20 at Colby with the Mammoths hoping to send a strong contingent to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for March 16-19 in Indianapolis.
