LYCOMING SWIMMING BREAKS NINE SCHOOL RECORDS; TURNS IN TWO NATIONAL CUTS AT MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Lycoming College swimming teams turned in solid performances at the 2005 Middle Atlantic Conference Swimming Championships. The Warrior women and men combined to break nine school records, win three individual conference titles, and post two “B-cuts” for the national championships. In the final team standings both the Lycoming women and men finished fourth in their respective conferences.

“Overall, I was very pleased with how well both teams finished,” said Warrior head coach Jerry Hammaker. “Our women moved up a spot from last season, in large part because of terrific leadership from our seniors. And the men did a great job considering our entries were down from last season, due to a number of injuries and illnesses.”

During the first day of competition, Steve Hawley (Jr./New Cumberland, Pa.; Trinity) highlighted the meet for the Warrior men by winning the conference title in the 50-yard freestyle. Hawley entered the event as the top seed and did not disappoint finishing in 21.17 seconds to set a new conference record and also earn a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Division III National Championships.

Rebecca Fox (Sr./Middletown, N.J.; Middletown South) and Kelly Sykes (Jr./Willimantic, Conn.; Windham) highlighted the meet for Lycoming’s women. Fox placed second in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:15.39. Sykes swam the 100-yard backstroke as the opening leg of the 400 medley relay and broke her own school record of 1:01.8. The entire 400 medley relay team also set a new school record with a mark of 4:09.35. Members of the team were Sykes, Stephanie Kudrick (Fr./Coudersport, Pa.; Coudersport), Jen Konecni (So./Highland Mills, N.Y.; Monroe Woodbury), and Erin Patrick (Sr./Media, Pa.; Penncrest).

“Steve winning the 50-free and qualifying for nationals was the obvious highlight of the first day,” said Hammaker. “But I was also very happy with the number of women we had make it back for the finals in the afternoon. We had four athletes in the women’s 200 IM and three in the women’s 50 free, which I think says a lot about the quality of our training groups.”

On day two of the championship meet, Fox again had a big day for the women’s team, claiming an individual conference championship in the 400-yard IM and breaking her own school record in the process with a time of 4:47.46. Kudrick came in second in the 100-yard breaststroke and set a new school mark during the preliminaries with a time of 1:08.55. Amy Gatehouse (So./Bethel Park, Pa.; Bethel Park) finished third in the same event. The women’s 200 medley relay team also set a new school record with a time of 1:53.59. The team was made up of Sykes, Kudrick, Konecni, and Kellie Cicconi (So./Odessa, N.Y.; Odessa-Montour Central).

For the men, Hawley recorded his second individual conference title by winning the 100-yard backstroke. His time of 52.76 seconds broke his own school record and is a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Division III National Championships. Josh Hogan (Sr./Waverly, N.Y.; Waverly) placed third in the same event. Chris Mungo (Jr./Boonton, N.J.. Montville Township) set a new school record with a time of 1:03.73 in the 100-yard breaststoke. The men’s 800-free relay team of Stuart Olsen (Jr./Evanston, Ill.; Evanston), Hogan, Jeff Swatkins (Jr./Guilford, Conn.; Xavier), and Mungo also set a new school record with a time of 7:22.27.

“Again, the individual titles from Steve and Rebecca were big for us on Saturday,” said Hammaker. “Steve’s was especially impressive because he got the b-cut for nationals in an event that was really his secondary focus throughout the season. Rebecca’s race was special because it really showed how much she has grown as a competitor during her career. She really grasped the concept of race strategy and swam a great race.

“We also got a nice boost from some unexpected places on the men’s side,” continued Hammaker. “Chris Dempsey won the consolation finals in the 400 IM, despite missing nearly a month of training with mono. And Brian Smith also placed in the 400 IM, scoring some points we hadn’t anticipated.”

On the final day of competition, Lycoming’s men were again led by Hawley and Swatkins. Hawley came in second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.12 seconds. Swatkins came in second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:01.61.

Fox continued to lead the Warrior women, placing second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:30.98.

“The story for the women on Sunday was the 200 breaststoke,” said Hammaker. “We placed four athletes in the finals and another in the consolations to really cement our fourth-place finish as a team. For the men, it was a great team effort to make a push and finish just 10 points out of third place. Steve and Jeff swam well to set the tone, but we also got important contributions from Kyle Drake, Brett Bausinger, Mark Ross, Jeff Field, and Chris Dempsey.

“Overall, on the surface our results may not seem that different from last season,” continued Hammaker. “But I think we made significant improvements in subtle ways. The number of athletes we had making the finals was way up and the number of personal-best times our swimmers recorded continue to prove our tapering system is effective. The men really pulled together as a team to overcome a rash of injuries during the season and still place well. And the women got some outstanding leadership from their seniors that I hope will serve as an example in years to come.”