The women’s swimming and diving team finished the year out with one of its most successful seasons in the history of the program.

The Bombers wrapped up the 2008 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships at Macalester College at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center with one of its strongest finishes in years.

The Blue and Gold placed 13th in the team standings with a total of 75 points, moving up seven spots from last year, marking their highest finish since 2003, when they placed 11th.  

“It’s really amazing how far they’ve come since the fall,” Head Coach Paula Miller said. “Their performance was incredible, and I’m so proud of them.”

Senior Lauren Botterbusch, who finished third in the nation in the 100-yard breaststroke and earned first-team All-American honors, agreed that the Bombers’ performances and training lifted them to the top.

“All of the hard work in the pool and at dry-land practices really paid off in the end,” Botterbusch said. “Everything we worked so hard for really showed up with us in Minneapolis.”

The Bombers knew they had to work even harder after they took home a first-place finish on Feb. 21 at the Upper New York State Collegiate Swimming Association and Empire 8 Conference Championships in Syracuse, N.Y. They wanted to prove that they were a top contender in the NCAA Championships as well.

The Blue and Gold needed to wait three weeks before they would arrive in Minnesota following their championship victories. But instead of taking that time off to rest, they spent hours tuning their skills in the Hill Center Pool.

They took advantage of every practice and didn’t take any workout for granted. Sophomore Sheila Rhoades, who was part of the sixth- and ninth-place medley relay teams and also received first-team All-American honors, said her teammates pushed themselves even harder throughout the three-week gap.

“We really turned up the intensity before the NCAAs,” Rhoades said. “We spent a lot of time working out in the pool, and it really paid off when we got to Minneapolis.“

Whether they were swimming individually or in a relay, the six members of the Blue and Gold that participated proved that they were among the top swimmers in the country. Junior Jen Heberton, freshman Amanda Vitullo, freshman Missy Keesler, sophomore Becca Blazak, Rhoades and Botterbusch all received All-American honors.

Botterbusch proved to be one of the best swimmers in the nation and showed valuable leadership as captain to the rest of the team. Finishing her impressive four-year career with 12 All-American honors, Botterbusch said she is more than pleased with the way her team performed at nationals.

“It was just an incredible trip, and I was so happy to be there with five other girls,” she said. “It was one of the largest groups that we’ve sent to nationals so far, and everyone pretty much exceeded expectations.”

It was not just their hard work and concentration to detail, but also their sense of unity and competitive spirit that the Blue and Gold maintained through the year that allowed them to win. With an 11–3 final overall record on the season, the team is now looking forward to an even brighter, more successful future.

The Bombers hope their performances this year will help them gain even more momentum into next season. They will return a young core of swimmers whose experience will be crucial to their success next year.

“They should all be so proud of themselves because it was such a great year,” Miller said. “The next thing I know, it’ll be the fall, and we’ll be starting another season of Ithaca swimming and diving.”