Ehling, Dailey, and Malone end 16 years of swimming together

Ehling, Dailey and Malone end 16 years of swimming together The end of an era has arrived for three members of the women’s team. Seniors Kate Ehling, Maura Dailey and Erin Malone have been swimming competitively on the same team since age six. The women were four-year members of the SpringfieldTownshipHigh School swim team and also competed on the Springfield Aquatic Club team during high school. According to head coach Jim Dailey, the hole they will leave in the Leopard program upon graduation will be difficult to fill. ’All three of them brought a sense of ‘team,’ since they had swam together for so long,’ Jim Dailey says. ‘They brought to the program leadership, motivation, a commitment to hard training, a dedication to excel academically and a lot of fun.’ While the trio has been an invaluable part of the swimming program the past four years, it was far from a group decision to attend Lafayette in the first place. ’The three of us came on our recruiting trip to Lafayette together and we all loved it,’ Ehling says. ‘However, I don’t think at that time we knew we would all end up here. We definitely weren’t planning on going to college together.’ Once the three were on campus, they were careful not to let their friendship interfere with the opportunity to grow as individuals during their time on College Hill. ’I think that we did a good job keeping our friendship alive while allowing each other to grow,’ Maura Dailey adds. ‘My favorite memories are always at [Patriot League] championships,’ Malone says. ‘Not only do people swim their best, but everyone is so excited and the energy level is so high.’ ’Without a doubt, my number one swimming memory is beating Lehigh by three points in the final event our sophomore year,’ Maura Dailey says.’I have never felt such intensity, enthusiasm and pride as a team member. After that meet, I knew that each of my teammates had swam their heart out and left it all in the pool.’