CMC75 Moments: 2020 Women's Swim and Dive Wins Back SCIAC Title
As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moments, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.
Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
2020 Women's Swim and Dive: CMS Returns to Top of SCIAC
CLAREMONT, Calif. - The CMS Women's Swimming and Diving program has had high standards over the years, so two straight seasons without a SCIAC title would be considered a "drought" for the Athenas. In 2020, a young CMS team with only one senior on the roster made sure to bring the championship trophy back by dominating SCIACs in its final competition of the year before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the NCAA Championships.
Augusta Lewis earned the SCIAC Swimmer of the Year honor after winning all three of her individual events (200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM), and Ella Blake was named the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year, capturing first in the 200 free and 500 free, and coming in second in the 1650 to teammate Gracey Hiebert. The Athenas, in fact, finished 1-2-3 in both distance events, with Blake followed by Hiebert and Leila El Masri in the 500 and Mia Syme earning third in the 1650.
Ava Sealander also repeated as the SCIAC Champion in the 100 fly, and Jameson Mitchum captured first in the 100 back. Mitchum, Lewis, Sealander and Natalia Orbach-Mandel added a win in the 400 medley relay in SCIAC record time, while the 200 medley relay of Mitchum, Suzanne Starzyk, Stephanie Lewis and Orbach-Mandel were SCIAC Champions as well.
CMS led by just 10 points after two days, but extended the lead to 58 after the third day and ended up with a final margin of almost 100 points over Pomona-Pitzer. The 11 Athenas who qualified for nationals each earned All-America honors after the championships were suspended, including Blake (1650 free, 800 free relay), Christina Campbell (800 free relay), Hiebert (1650 free), Augusta Lewis (200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM, 400 free relay, 400 medley relay, 800 free relay), Stephanie Lewis (200 medley relay), Mitchum (100 back, 200 back, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 800 free relay), Orbach-Mandel (200 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay, 400 medley relay), Sealander (100 fly, 200 fly, 50 free, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay), Starzyk (200 free relay, 200 medley relay), Janet Tran (200 free relay, 400 free relay) and Allie Umemoto (400 free relay).
Natalia Orbach-Mandel:
In my first year, I came onto a team where all we heard from upperclassmen were stories about SCIAC battles and the pride that came with the SCIAC title. Hearing those stories was a big motivator for us all; each year we came back fighting harder to bring back the title. SCIACs is the final competition each season for us to compete as a complete team so we make it a big focus to show up at our best, ready to compete and cheer each other on, and win the meet with everyone contributing.
It felt like everything had been made right again. Our team was really special this past year--everyone on the team at SCIACs, whether scoring or not, was determined to make that win happen. We had worked all year for those few days: throwing new dives, pushing harder paces in practice, and growing into a unified team. It was incredibly rewarding to win with everyone there.
I will never forget the moment just before I dove in to anchor the 400 medley relay on the third night of the meet. I like to fly a bit under the radar, so typically having 20 people around me chanting "Nati" would just make me jittery, but this race was different. Standing on the block, I saw Ava (Sealander) pulling ahead of the field and I knew that my teammates had set me up perfectly for the win, and that I was not going to let anybody catch me. It all came together into a perfect race moment.
Janet Tran:
Winning the SCIAC title was pretty important for me because we were fell short the previous two years. With my college career almost 3/4 of the way done, I wanted to experience what a title was like and to share that experience with my teammates. As for the team, the only members to have experienced a title were the senior class. They probably wanted to end their career with a win, and I think the rest of us just really wanted to see what that was like.
For me, it was a huge relief because we had been building up to that moment for months. After falling short the previous two years, it felt amazing to finally achieve the goal we had been chasing since the beginning of our collegiate careers.
There are so many moments from that championship that I loved, but my favorite would have to be watching the women's 500 free final. We had five women in the final, so the Athenas already dominated the field in both standing and number. In the end, the Athenas were able to out touch the competition and sweep the podium, just like the year before. It is always a joy to watch the distance women compete, and that race set the stage for the rest of the meet.
Allie Umemoto:
After coming in second the previous two years, we all came into this SCIACs with a determination to win. I think this last SCIACs was important for me and my class to show the work and progress we have made, while using our experiences to motivate our teammates and earn the SCIAC title back for CMS.
The championship feeling was extremely rewarding and I am grateful to have experienced it with this CMS team. It showed how our class found a way to work through the challenges and heartbreaks and finally come out with a win. Personally, I also saw the work I did abroad and training camp to get back into shape to contribute to the team.
I think the feeling on the last day was something I will never forget. I came in super nervous as I had a double that day, swimming both the 100 free and 200 fly. I remember finishing my fourth race of the day, the 200 fly finals, with a huge smile on my face. I thought I would be exhausted, but when Charlie came over and asked how I was feeling, I said, "I feel great." I felt the energy from the team that whole day giving me strength to swim a fifth race with the 400 freestyle relay.
2019-20 Women's Swimming and Diving Roster
Head Coach: Charles Griffiths
Diving Coach: Ivan Bondarenko
Assistant Coaches: Scott Player, Juliet Suess, Renata Martinez
Kimiko Adler (Fy., CMC)
Liv Baker (Sr., CMC)
Ella Blake (Fy., HMC)
Mischa Brown (Fy., Scripps)
Christina Campbell (Jr., CMC)
Arisa Cowe (Fy., HMC)
Laura Dickinson (Jr., CMC)
Leila El Masri (So., CMC)
Jen Franklin (Jr., CMC)
Aly Gallagher (Fy., CMC)
Gracey Hiebert (Fy., HMC)
Emily Howard (Jr., CMC)
Anne Jang (Jr., CMC)
Annie Johnson (Fy., Scripps)
Karena Klinkenberg (Fy., Scripps)
Natalie Larsen (So., CMC)
Lexi Lee (Fy., CMC)
Augusta Lewis (So., CMC)
Stephanie Lews (Jr., CMC)
Jameson Mitchum (Fy., CMC)
Natalia Orbach-Mandel (Jr., HMC)
Makenna Parkinson (Fy., HMC)
Ava Sealander (So., Scripps)
Suzanne Starzyk (Fy., CMC)
Caroline Sundal (Fy., Scripps)
Mia Syme (Jr., CMC)
Janet Tran (Jr., CMC)
Allie Umemoto (Jr., Scripps)
Rachel Wander (So., HMC)
Emily Warner (Fy., CMC)