By Julia Cunningham and Cathleen Pruden, Swimming World College Interns
Not every swimmer can say that they’re excited for a three session championship meet at the tail end of the hardest training of the year. But not every swimmer or diver has the opportunity to participate in a championship meet with almost 40 years of history and tradition behind it either. The Seven Sisters Swimming and Diving Championship is that kind of event; one with its own rich and distinctive culture. The meet, an annual event that now includes Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley Colleges is not just about the competition, but about celebrating the sisterhood of the (no longer seven) historic schools.
Wellesley senior Erin Yang describes what makes the meet special, “I would say that this is the one meet where I come away with new friends every year and where I think everyone makes everyone else feel like a winner, no matter if we are the team rockstar or just had a really off day.”
Yang went on to say that watching other swimmers, regardless of what team they are on, can be inspirational, “I’m always impressed by how incredible the other women are at the meet – they’re fast, they’re strong, they’re powerful, hard workers in the classroom and in the water.”
History
Photo Courtesy: Kenneth Chung
Smith College coach, Kim Bierwart, explained that this emphasis on the team spirit, rather than the competitive spirit, is something that has remained unchanged throughout the history of the meet. Bierwart, who has been in his position since the 1977 season, five years before the creation of the meet, said, “On our team we never have meets against other teams or swimmers/divers, we have meets with other teams against the clock or the scores. We use the performances of others to inspire motivate and challenge one another and I think that this meet embodies that spirit/attitude.”
Photo Courtesy: Kenneth Chung
One swimmer in particular in Smith’s history exhibited those exact traits. Marly Pineda was a four year swimmer who went on to receive her Master’s degree from Smith. “When she raced, win or lose, she would always congratulate those with whom she swam/raced in a way that made them feel good about their swim,” Bierwart explained. “Most of all Marly had a never say no/never give, always be positive, and believe in yourself and others attitude. She was asked once why she was always smiling and she said that [there] is ‘really no good alternative.’”
Tragically, in 2010 her life was cut short by a bicycle accident. She is memorialized at Seven Sisters with the Marly Pineda Award for an outstanding senior from any team who exhibits enthusiasm towards every aspect of the sport, sportsmanship, and is an all-around outstanding teammate.
Tradition
Photo Courtesy: Kenneth Chung
From the silliness of the Hokey Pokey, to the sentimental nature of senior recognition, these traditions shape the meet and the memories.
Margaret Reisert, a freshman from Vassar, mentioned that the unique atmosphere of the meet made a huge impression on her. “I really enjoyed my first Seven Sisters. I found some of the traditions very strange, though fun at the same time.”
One of those traditions is the Seven Sisters cheers. Yang explained, “I don’t even know the origin of our Seven Sisters cheers because they have been going on for so long, but being at this meet makes me feel tied to this huge network of incredible swimmers and divers before me.”
For Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, and Smith, the Seven Sisters cheer continues after the meet. The three schools are the only women’s colleges in the NEWMAC, and, in an effort to outdo the co-ed teams’ noise level and support each other, the three schools do the Seven Sisters cheer together one night of the conference championship.
Another important aspect of the meet is the mid-meet banquet. Every year the coaches and swimmers alike come together to appreciate being a part of the Seven Sisters. “Seven Sisters was really different from other champ meets in that it had that banquet at the end of the first day to meet the people you were racing against,” Reisert said. “I liked it, though also found it interesting that you were chatting in such an informal way with the people you were racing against.”
“As coaches, we all enjoy the banquet as we talk about shared problems, concerns and goals,” Bierwart commented. “We enjoy how our swimmers and divers by the end of the banquet have had the opportunity to begin to get know others from teams in a wonderful and unique manner that does not happen at any other meet.”
Photo Courtesy: Kenneth Chung
During this time, Bierwert also awards the Marly Pineda Award. The 2016 Award recipient was Mount Holyoke senior captain and five event Seven Sisters record holder Cathleen Pruden.
With two members per team at a table, the athletes get a chance to know each other. “The camaraderie is so genuine, and I know that we actually care about each other, even when we’re on different teams,” reflected Yang. “There’s no other meet where we are competing during the day and then hang out altogether at night,” she added.
This year Wellesley’s Coach Bonnie Dix approached the captains’ table to point out that the coaches had stood up, dropping the hint that they were ready to leave. Yet, the swimmers and divers could have continued their conversation all night.
The banquet and the cheers are only a few of the events that involve each team on deck. “My favorite part of the meet are the ‘all-inclusive events,’” Yang went on. “It felt so surreal going through a tunnel of all the juniors, sophomores, and first years from all the schools as a senior this year. I just felt so supported and uplifted, especially because I wasn’t just walking through a crowd of my own teammates.”
That sentiment could be found throughout the meet both in and out of the water. “I think it’s such a fun meet because most of the girls from other teams are really nice and are supportive, even though each of the teams are trying to win,” Reisert said.
Relationships
Herrold “chatting away like great friends” with her major competitor Stephanie Christie. Photo Courtesy: Katie Herrold
The support emblematic of the of the Seven Sisters doesn’t stop at the meet. When Katie Harrold, a member of the class of 2000, made nationals as a first year, she was the first, and only swimmer that year to go from Mount Holyoke. She was by no means alone at the meet, however. “I was the only swimmer representing Mount Holyoke, but Bierwert and Dix, and their swimmers made me feel like I had a ‘team’ at the meet,” she reflected.
Three Seven Sisters champions on the night they became three All Americans. Photo Courtesy: Cathleen Pruden
Years later, these bonds continue. At Division III NCAAs last March, Julia Cunningham and Pruden spent most of the week together and with each others’ coaches, as the only athletes present for their teams. Cunningham even counted for Pruden’s 1650, and the two also had a chance to watch Wellesley’s Maura Sticco-Ivins as she dove to National Champion and runner-up finishes on the three and one meter boards.
Harrold noted too that, during her time at Mount Holyoke, she had opportunities to keep in touch with the other Seven Sisters outside of the pool. “In fact I recall traveling to Northampton a number of times to hang out with Smith swimmers, and I even attended the thesis defense of one Smith swimmer,” she said. The relationships started at this meet develop into genuine and lasting bonds.
More Than A Meet
Photo Courtesy: Kenneth Chung
There are plenty of times throughout the Seven Sisters weekend where one could entirely forget they are at a championship meet. While it is not a taper meet, swimmers and divers have put down some incredibly competitive times and scores. “I’ve had some of my best times at this meet, even when my body has just endured the most intense training of the season, just because I’m racing my friends,” Yang said. This weekend alone there were five NCAA B cuts for swimmers and seven regional qualifiers among divers.
Lillian Oyen-Ustad, a freshman at Bryn Mawr, agreed that the difference in this meet, when compared to others, was palpable. “I was shocked at how much fun the meet was,” she said. “I’ve noticed at the collegiate level that competitions are always taken very seriously and you’re expected to perform each and every time. However…the spirit of sisterhood and a shared love of the sport is truly the focal point of the weekend.”
Seven Sisters is more than just another championship meet. It is a weekend full of excitement and laughter with a few chances to demonstrate the impact of the hard work that has been put in through the season.
“As an alum, I continue to feel proud to be a Seven Sisters alum,” Harrold said, “and it was the Seven Sisters meet that truly made me realize that I was part of a lifelong sisterhood within the community.”
Waw perfect
gred
I love this! So proud to have swam in college.
What a wonderful tradition! Keep it up Ladies!!
As it should be!!!
Ana Roro Amir