volunteers, awards, recaps
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Penguins and Friends Mini Meet Results

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SALEM, NH — On May 22, the Granite State Penguins hosted New England’s first open Masters Swimming meet in over a year. Despite the long gap between meets, over 60 swimmers showed up to race, and they did not disappoint. In addition to having a great time and raising $720 for Swim With A Mission, five swimmers broke New England LMSC or USMS age group records.

  • Chuck Barnes (NEM-SWMR) broke the USMS men’s 40-44 record for the 50 fly with a 22.56, surpassing the previous mark of 22.60 from 2018.

  • The versatile Beth Estel (NEM-GSP) set three New England records in the women’s 65-69 age group. Beth went 38.48 in the 50 breaststroke, besting the 2015 record of 39.58, and 1:23.87 in the 100 breaststroke (prior record 1:25.14). Finally, she set the 1000 free record in 13:02.81.

  • Rachel Flinn (NEM-GSP) broke the New England women’s 25-29 50 backstroke record, taking the 2009 record of 27.74 down to 26.66.

  • Stuart Cromarty (NEM-SWMR) swam a 5:20.81 to set the New England men’s 55-59 500 free record, which was previously held by Penguin Bob Tyler (5:24.39).

  • Bill Ryan (NEM) broke the New England men's 70-74 1000 free record with a 13:04.71, besting a 1997 record of 13:18.62.

Meet Director Kysa Crusco thanks and credits the whole support team for a successful meet: Marilyn Soraghan for all the work preparing entries and results, Tracy Grilli for assisting with the entries and meet planning, Brendan Wright and Erik Reynolds for running the timing system, and our awesome meet officials: Paul Memont, Betsy Russell, Carol Prescott, and Suzanne Hoey. Thanks also to all our volunteer timers, the Workout Club, and the Ray's Parent Board.

18th Annual George Erswell Meet Recap

Contributed by Tim Lecrone, MESC & NE LMSC Registrar

Dale Syphers of MESC (photo by Anne Uecker)

BRUNSWICK, ME -- It was a small crowd of 30+ swimmers who braved the storm aftermath to attend the 18th Annual George Erswell Meet on November 4, but as always a quality meet was put on by Bowdoin College!

New Blue Lobster, Rob Allen, had an impressive 10:51.15 win for the 50-54 age group in the 1000-yard freestyle, and CRM's Fred Schlicter continued to show his dominance in the 65-69 age group with impressive swims in the 200 fly (2:32.64) and 200 free (2:09.14).  

In the end everyone that made a splash achieved wonderful things, and the homemade snacks were incredible!

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Gary Isherwood Memorial Swim Meet Recap

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Contributed by Tim Lecrone, NE-LMSC Registrar & Photos by Mike Hurd, MESC

BANGOR, ME -- With an amazing turnout out of 56 competitors, the first annual Gary Isherwood Memorial Swim Meet on June 24th was an incredible success. It was MESC's first ever summer mini meet to exceed 40 swimmers, and more excitingly, the majority of swimmers were first time masters meet participants. 

The high participation couldn't have been for a better cause, as proceeds from meet entries and t-shirt sales went to the Gary Isherwood Memorial Scholarship Fund. The fund honors the late Gary Isherwood, longtime swim coach at John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor. The meet raised about $2,000.

Swims were fast, smiles were huge, and next year's event promises to be even bigger. A huge thanks goes to the Bangor YMCA, the staff and volunteers of the Bangor Y Barracudas, and several meet enthusiasts from local high school teams.

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Athlete Report: NEM Places 5th at 2017 USMS Spring Nationals

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Contributed by Jen Downing, 15-year member of Charles River (Cambridge) Masters

The NEM crew at Spring Nationals in Riverside, CA

RIVERSIDE, CA -- New England Masters (NEM) was represented at the 2017 Nationwide USMS Spring Nationals from April 27-30 by a small but energetic contingent of athletes. This was my 11th short course nationals and by far the most fun! I think because there were only twenty of us, we really got to know one another and made sure to cheer each other on. I think other teams were actually jealous of how much noise we made behind the lanes! Many thanks to Tracy Grilli for working her magic with the relays, to Karin Stokes for ordering our awesome team shirts, and to Sue Jensen for organizing a delicious team dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. The Riverside complex was rather impressive, with two 10-lane competition pools and two 6-lane warm-up pools, plus a diving well. And it was hot! Not much shade for spectators, but if you'll remember how Boston was in April, it was really nice to enjoy the sunshine and swim outside.

NEM finished 5th overall in the Regional Club division behind Colorado, Arizona, Puget Sound, and Wisconsin. Our very own Diann Uustal broke 6 USMS records as a 70-year-old in the 50, 100, and 200 backstrokes, 50 freestyle, 50 butterfly, and 100 IM. Congrats, Diann! Four of our NEM relays finished in the Top 10 in their age brackets, including the W 35+ 200 freestyle and 200 medley, and the W 55+ 200 freestyle and 200 medley. We had teammates returning from injury, trying new events for the first time, swimming best times, and more than anything, having fun! If you've never participated in Nationals before, it's a terrific opportunity to see old friends and meet new ones, compete in fast venues across the country, and celebrate our sport with like-minded people. You're even allowed to swim up to three events without making the qualifying time, so don't let qualifying discourage you from taking the plunge. Next year's meet is at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, May 11-13, 2018. Hope to see you there!

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LANES Tea Party 7 Meet Recap & Results

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Contributed by Will Lawson & Brian Moynihan, TP7 Meet Co-Directors

The start of a race at MIT's beautiful facility

The start of a race at MIT's beautiful facility

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- On Saturday, April 29, Boston's Liquid Assets (LANES) hosted the team's 7th Tea Party swim meet. Held at the renowned Zesiger Aquatic Center on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), more than 150 masters swimmers from near and far spent a few hours in the pool racing and cheering each other on.

The biennial meet is one that we at LANES love hosting and it's always great to see so many folks at the pool. It's certainly worth noting that watching these dedicated swimmers all jump in the pool and go back and forth in unicorn floats was by far our favorite moment and made all the hard work of planning a swim meet well worth it!

The "Fun Relay" - 4x 25 on unicorn pool floats

The "Fun Relay" - 4x 25 on unicorn pool floats

The meet itself could not have happened without the involvement of so many wonderful supporters, officials, volunteers, and the fabulous MIT crew who helped the meet run smoothly and quickly.

Meet Directors Will Lawson and Brian Moynihan

Meet Directors Will Lawson and Brian Moynihan

We have also set up a Google Drive for everyone to share photos. Please go here to upload your photos from the meet and browse those from other people! Let us know if you have any questions or notice discrepancies at BostonLANESTP7@gmail.com. Also, please feel free to reach out to us there to share thoughts about the meet -- favorite parts or things we should work on, etc.

Thanks again for your support and we will see you in two years for TP8! We promise another great meet, including another fabulous "Fun Relay", and a fun weekend.

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6th Annual Monumental Masters Swim Meet Recap

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Contributed by Mike Leake

BENNINGTON, VT -- Amid light snowfall and Vermont Maple Weekend, 30 swimmers and their supporters came together on Saturday, March 25, at the Bennington Recreation Center for the 6th Annual Monumental Masters Swim Meet. Swimmers of all abilities enjoyed a fun morning of easy-going competition and encouragement. The proceeds of the event benefited the Bennington Marauders swim team, which provides youth swimming in southwestern Vermont. 

This year, folks traveled from as far away as New Jersey and Niagara Falls, NY, with many of our aquatic neighbors from the Adirondacks making the shorter drive to attend. Western Massachusetts was also well represented, with swimmers from Williamstown, the Pittsfield Polar Bears, and the Simon's Rock Pace Makers competing for the day. All who came were able to take home free U.S. Masters Swimming caps and stickers as well as some fun giveaways, including stroopwafels from Bakkerij Krijnen and maple syrup from Dunn's Leak-ee Bucket Sugar House.

Swimming for the first time with host team Monument Masters were Eric Florio and Tim Russell. Returning to the pool again were Amanda Robson, Carol Newell, Matt Moon, Gabrielle Betit-Mattison, and Rebecca Healy. Siblings Jeff, Jill, and Mike Leake were joined by Kevin Murphy in the Monumental streak of swimming in every installment of the meet so far. 

With fun events that included the Tarzan Swim and Monument Kick Sprints in addition to relays, excitement is building for our next installment in the spring of 2018!  

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Two NE-LMSC Relay Records Broken at Exeter Meet

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RESULTS

Contributed by Sue Jensen, NE-LMSC Officials Chair

The 65+ men’s relay team of Fred Schlicher, Dan Epstein, Jay Jones, and Rob Schiller shattered two long-standing New England relay records at the Exeter mini meet this weekend in Exeter, New Hampshire. First, the quartet finished the 200 medley relay in 2:09.56, breaking the 2013 record of 2:15.87. They continued with the 200 freestyle relay, besting the 2010 record of 1:59.76 with a time of 1:53.89. The foursome train together at Charles River Masters.

Way to go and congratulations Fred, Dan, Jay and Rob!

Rob, Jay, Dan, and Fred after a record-setting swim

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Two NE Records Bested at 17th Annual Erswell Meet in Maine

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Contributed by Tim Lecrone, NE-LMSC Registrar

Photos contributed by Sue Jensen

Fred Schlicher and Sue Jensen

BRUNSWICK, ME - It was another great mini meet in Maine on Halloween weekend!  The 17th Annual George Erswell Masters Meet, held at Bowdoin College on October 29, found swimmers and fans residing poolside with great swims and even greater smiles. Four teams - MESC, GBM, NEM, and RICE of South Texas - were represented. There were some memorable moments, starting with Dick Hutchings setting a New England record in the men's 75-79 500-yard freestyle with a time of 7:18.23. Of course, great things come in pairs, and Fred Schlicher demolished the New England record in the men's 65-69 200-yard butterfly with a blazing 2:31.01. 

One of the most exciting things about the meet was the large number of newcomers to masters swimming. This was Maine's second meet of the fall season, and both featured excellent turnout from new participants. This year's Erswell meet hosted 46 athletes, up from 38 last year. This bodes well for new energy and enthusiasm in the form of new faces for the coming season!  

Rob Schiller preparing for his race

Sue Jensen and Anne Uecker

The beautiful Bowdoin pool