Northeastern University Athletics | Swimming & Diving | Huskies rewrite records in '09 season

Huskies rewrite records in '09 season
April 17, 2009
Boston, Mass.

Coming off of the program’s second-ever undefeated season, expectations were high for the Huskies. While NU was unable to repeat, the team showed great promise, breaking 13 records on route to a 7-6 season (2-3 in the CAA) and an eighth-place finish at the CAA Championship.

The season started off with a disappointing 170-130 loss to Boston College, but senior co-captain Elena Alvarez and freshman Rachael Peterson shined for the Huskies. Alvarez won the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and the 200 IM, while Peterson was named CAA Diver of the Week for her first-place finish in the 3-meter dive and second-place finish in the 1-meter dive. Northeastern bounced back with two wins the following week, however, beating Maine, 152-141, and Central Connecticut, 198-91. Alvarez and Peterson continued their winning ways, and senior co-captain Alexandra Doty contributed with a win in the 100 backstroke.

A pod meet against James Madison, Old Dominion, William & Mary and Drexel provided stiff competition for the Huskies in week three. NU lost to Old Dominion (200-153), William & Mary (235-117) and James Madison (224-118), but pulled off a 270-77 win against Drexel. Leading the way for the Huskies were junior Kathrine Fugge and freshman Jill Kearns, who both had two top-five finishes on the day.

The Huskies came back strong the following week, finishing in second place at the Terrier Invitational and setting four school records. Junior Emily Sutliff led Northeastern with three record-breaking performances. Her second-place finishes in both the 1650-yard (17:07.79) and 500-yard (4:59.84) freestyle events set new Husky marks, as did her 1000-yard split time (10:20.07) in the 1650 freestyle. Alvarez set the final Husky record of the day winning the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:04.01.

Before traveling to Puerto Rico for a training trip, the Huskies got their fourth win of the season with a 161.5-138.5 victory over UMass on Dec. 6. Alvarez, Sutliff and junior Natalia Snegour each won two events while Fugge and Kearns contributed 16 and 17 points, respectively. Back in action Jan. 10, the Huskies pulled out a close meet against James Madison (150.5-149.5) for their fifth win of the season. Doty and Sutliff led the Huskies with two first-place finishes each.

On Jan. 17, the Huskies split a tri-meet with New Hampshire and Boston University. Led by Kearns, Fugge and Sutliff, who each had two top-five finishes on the day, NU defeated UNH 171-128 but could not overcome BU, losing 202-97. The Huskies got back to their winning ways the following week however, defeating Vermont 172-128 on Senior Day. Northeastern had at least one swimmer place in the top three in each of the events, but the victory was powered by the seniors as Courtney Flanagan took first and second in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, Alvarez won the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and Doty won the 100 butterfly and came in second in the 100 backstroke.

Despite winning eight of the 16 events Feb. 7, the Huskies lost to Dartmouth 165-135. Alvarez and Fugge led the way for the Huskies earning 26 and 22 points, respectively while Kearns and junior Erica Smotrycz each added 19. Alvarez won the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and Fugge won the 200 freestyle and 200 IM while Kearns took the 200 butterfly and Smotrycz finished first in the 50-yard freestyle.

NU finished the regular season with a non-scoring meet against Harvard before traveling to George Mason to compete at the CAA Championship Feb. 25-28. During the four-day competition, the Huskies saw nine school records fall. The first record was broken in just the second event of the day, the 800 freestyle relay. The team of Sutliff, Fugge, and junior Alexis Kalevich and sophomore Carolyn Marsh finished eighth in 7:35.24, breaking the previous record of 7:37.05 set at the America East Championship in 2004. On the second day, two more NU records were broken. The 200 freestyle relay team of Smotrycz, Fugge and sophomores Sarah Martin and Rachel Mondello finished in 1:34.23, earning sixth and breaking the previous record of 1:35.91. Smotrycz also broke a record by finishing her leg of the relay in 23.57, besting the previous 50-yard time of 23.73 set in 2006.

The last two days of competition saw six school records fall. Capping off her breakout season, Kearns broke two Husky marks by coming in third in the 400 IM in 4:20.85, besting the previous mark by 6.05 seconds, and sixth in the 200 butterfly in 2:02.44, beating the previous record by 32 hundredths of a second. Three more individual records were set as Alvarez finished the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.97, erasing a mark she set earlier in the season, Snegour's time of 2:05.41 in the 200 backstroke broke the seven-year-old record of 2:05.64 and Sutliff’s 1000-yard split time (10:15.30) in the 1650 bested the NU record of 10:20.17, which she set earlier this season. Husky relay teams also continued making history as the 400 freestyle relay team of Fugge, Martin, Smotrycz, and Mondello broke the four-year-old record of 3:29.20 with their eighth-place finish in the event in 3:29.08.

Although the Huskies will lose six seniors, and the veteran leadership on co-captains Alvarez and Doty, their future looks bright. The team has had three straight winning seasons and with an added year of experience for these promising swimmers, NU will look to make it four next year.



	HUSKIES HEADLINES SCHEDULES & RESULTS CALENDAR OF EVENTS RADIO & TV SCHEDULE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HUSKIES INSIDER NORTHEASTERN TWITTER CAA BLOOD CHALLENGE DIRECTIONS SPECIAL EVENTS TRAVEL RSS FEEDS HUSKY ATHLETICS FUND CORPORATE PARTNERS MERCHANDISE TICKET INFORMATION iPHONE APPLICATION NCENTIVES HALL OF FAME CHEERLEADING MISSION & GOALS HISTORY STAFF DIRECTORY FACILITIES CAMPS & CLINICS MEDIA GUIDES NCAA COMPLIANCE NCAA CERTIFICATION SPORTS INFORMATION SPORTS MEDICINE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING STUDENT ATHLETES FIRST SUPPORT SERVICES P.A.W.S. INITIATIVE NORTHEASTERN WEBSITE BOSTON CAMPUS RECREATION SPORT IN SOCIETY GoNU.com INDEX	Schedule Coaches Roster Archives Huskies rewrite records in '09 season April 17, 2009 Boston, Mass. Coming off of the program’s second-ever undefeated season, expectations were high for the Huskies. While NU was unable to repeat, the team showed great promise, breaking 13 records on route to a 7-6 season (2-3 in the CAA) and an eighth-place finish at the CAA Championship. The season started off with a disappointing 170-130 loss to Boston College, but senior co-captain Elena Alvarez and freshman Rachael Peterson shined for the Huskies. Alvarez won the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and the 200 IM, while Peterson was named CAA Diver of the Week for her first-place finish in the 3-meter dive and second-place finish in the 1-meter dive. Northeastern bounced back with two wins the following week, however, beating Maine, 152-141, and Central Connecticut, 198-91. Alvarez and Peterson continued their winning ways, and senior co-captain Alexandra Doty contributed with a win in the 100 backstroke. A pod meet against James Madison, Old Dominion, William & Mary and Drexel provided stiff competition for the Huskies in week three. NU lost to Old Dominion (200-153), William & Mary (235-117) and James Madison (224-118), but pulled off a 270-77 win against Drexel. Leading the way for the Huskies were junior Kathrine Fugge and freshman Jill Kearns, who both had two top-five finishes on the day. The Huskies came back strong the following week, finishing in second place at the Terrier Invitational and setting four school records. Junior Emily Sutliff led Northeastern with three record-breaking performances. Her second-place finishes in both the 1650-yard (17:07.79) and 500-yard (4:59.84) freestyle events set new Husky marks, as did her 1000-yard split time (10:20.07) in the 1650 freestyle. Alvarez set the final Husky record of the day winning the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:04.01. Before traveling to Puerto Rico for a training trip, the Huskies got their fourth win of the season with a 161.5-138.5 victory over UMass on Dec. 6. Alvarez, Sutliff and junior Natalia Snegour each won two events while Fugge and Kearns contributed 16 and 17 points, respectively. Back in action Jan. 10, the Huskies pulled out a close meet against James Madison (150.5-149.5) for their fifth win of the season. Doty and Sutliff led the Huskies with two first-place finishes each. On Jan. 17, the Huskies split a tri-meet with New Hampshire and Boston University. Led by Kearns, Fugge and Sutliff, who each had two top-five finishes on the day, NU defeated UNH 171-128 but could not overcome BU, losing 202-97. The Huskies got back to their winning ways the following week however, defeating Vermont 172-128 on Senior Day. Northeastern had at least one swimmer place in the top three in each of the events, but the victory was powered by the seniors as Courtney Flanagan took first and second in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, Alvarez won the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and Doty won the 100 butterfly and came in second in the 100 backstroke. Despite winning eight of the 16 events Feb. 7, the Huskies lost to Dartmouth 165-135. Alvarez and Fugge led the way for the Huskies earning 26 and 22 points, respectively while Kearns and junior Erica Smotrycz each added 19. Alvarez won the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and Fugge won the 200 freestyle and 200 IM while Kearns took the 200 butterfly and Smotrycz finished first in the 50-yard freestyle. NU finished the regular season with a non-scoring meet against Harvard before traveling to George Mason to compete at the CAA Championship Feb. 25-28. During the four-day competition, the Huskies saw nine school records fall. The first record was broken in just the second event of the day, the 800 freestyle relay. The team of Sutliff, Fugge, and junior Alexis Kalevich and sophomore Carolyn Marsh finished eighth in 7:35.24, breaking the previous record of 7:37.05 set at the America East Championship in 2004. On the second day, two more NU records were broken. The 200 freestyle relay team of Smotrycz, Fugge and sophomores Sarah Martin and Rachel Mondello finished in 1:34.23, earning sixth and breaking the previous record of 1:35.91. Smotrycz also broke a record by finishing her leg of the relay in 23.57, besting the previous 50-yard time of 23.73 set in 2006. The last two days of competition saw six school records fall. Capping off her breakout season, Kearns broke two Husky marks by coming in third in the 400 IM in 4:20.85, besting the previous mark by 6.05 seconds, and sixth in the 200 butterfly in 2:02.44, beating the previous record by 32 hundredths of a second. Three more individual records were set as Alvarez finished the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.97, erasing a mark she set earlier in the season, Snegour's time of 2:05.41 in the 200 backstroke broke the seven-year-old record of 2:05.64 and Sutliff’s 1000-yard split time (10:15.30) in the 1650 bested the NU record of 10:20.17, which she set earlier this season. Husky relay teams also continued making history as the 400 freestyle relay team of Fugge, Martin, Smotrycz, and Mondello broke the four-year-old record of 3:29.20 with their eighth-place finish in the event in 3:29.08. Although the Huskies will lose six seniors, and the veteran leadership on co-captains Alvarez and Doty, their future looks bright. The team has had three straight winning seasons and with an added year of experience for these promising swimmers, NU will look to make it four next year.