WARRIOR SWIMMERS EAGER TO COMPETE AT MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

WILLIAMSPORT, PA – The Lycoming College swimming teams will travel to Susquehanna University, this weekend, to compete in the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships. Both Warrior teams hope to take major steps towards conference titles as they continue their development under second-year head coach Jerry Hammaker.

The emphasis for the men’s team will be on improvement. Last season, Lycoming finished sixth out of eight men’s teams.

“Our goal going in is to finish in the top three,” said Hammaker. “This is the first time ever that Lycoming has fielded the maximum number of eighteen qualifiers at the championships. That is quite an accomplishment in itself for a program that just two years ago only had 10 guys on the roster. With eighteen guys going, we should be able to score more than our share of points.”

The Warriors will look to a few individuals to set the tone for the entire team early in the competition. Nathan DeCapria (Fr./Jersey Shore, PA; Central Mountain) enters the meet as the top seed in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events. Not only will DeCapria be looking to bring home a pair of individual titles, he will also be looking to lower his national qualifying time in the 50 free. His toughest competition in the 50 could come from teammate Steven Hawley (Fr./New Cumberland, PA; Trinity). Hawley is the number two seed in the event and will be gunning to join DeCapria as a national qualifier.

Also expected to score significant points for Lycoming are Josh Hogan (So./Waverly, NY; Waverly), Jeff Swatkins (Fr./Guilford, CT; Xavier), and Dustin Long (Fr./Halifax, PA; Halifax). Hogan was the Warriors’ top backstroker last season, but has come on in the butterfly events this season. He enters the championships as the third seed in the 100 fly. Swatkins will also score points in the flies, entering the meet as the third seed in the 200 fly. Long has been battling an illness the past few weeks, but if healthy could score points for Lycoming in the IM, fly, and/or middle distance freestyle events.

Another name to watch is Stuart Olsen (Fr./Evanston, IL; Evanston Twp.). Olsen is a freshman who has the potential to drop significant time in a number of events.

“The most interesting part of the men’s meet should be watching how our freshman respond to the big meet atmosphere,” said Hammaker. “We’ll know a lot after the first night, if we swim well early we could score a lot of points.”

For the women, Jess Amadore (Jr./Easton, PA; Wilson) and Andrea Rapach (Sr./Pittsford, NY; Pittsford-Mendon) will be counted on to score points in the sprints and relays. Amadore is the defending conference champion in the 50 freestyle, but Rapach, who finished second last season, enters as the top seed in the event. Both will also swim legs on multiple relay teams.

Rebecca Fox (So./Middletown, NJ; Middletown South) is the Warriors’ most versatile swimmer and could score points for Lycoming in a variety of events. Already the owner of three school records, Fox will be looking to add to that total in some different events from a year ago. Freshman Kelly Sykes (Willimantic, CT; Windham) should also add some points from the backstroke events. Sykes enters the championships as the second seed in the 200 back and the third seed in the 100 back.

“The women’s side of the conference will be extremely competitive this year,” said Hammaker. “Last year the top two or three teams were fairly clear cut. This year there are five schools that each has the potential to win the meet.

“It will be interesting to see how our ladies respond to the higher level of competition,” continued Hammaker. “Last season, we went undefeated during the regular season and entered the championships with a lot of confidence. This year there’s been a bit more adversity and how we respond to that will determine where we finish.”

The championships will begin on Friday with preliminary heats at noon and the first finals at 7 p.m. Competition will continue on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. each morning.

For more information visit: http://www.susqu.edu/sports/mac/macswimming.htm