Warrior Swimming Dominates King's
Puts Forth Strong in MAC Championships' Pool

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. --- The waters calmed for Lycoming swimming as they put to ease the minds of anyone that worried about last weekends’ University of Scranton results with a sounds thumping of King’s College on Thursday evening.  The Warrior women improved to 6-3 on the season with a 123-4 trouncing while the men check in at 4-5 after downing the Monarch’s 108-69.

More importantly, the meet gave the Warriors a chance to compete at the Wilkes-Barre CYC, the site of next months Middle Atlantic Conference Championships.  Aside from looking how they react in the water, as each pool has a different speed effect, Lycoming swimmers got a chance to preview the environment before competition in a few weeks.

A total of 14 Lycoming swimmers, eight women and six men, claimed first place or posted top times in 18 of the events.  Leading the way for the women was freshman Jessie Gallagher (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham) with victories in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly.  Fellow first year swimmer Milvana Ban (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) also picked up a pair of event victories in the 100-yard freestyle and the 400-yard individual medley.

The Lady Warriors laid claim to both backstroke and breaststroke races.  Freshman Jessica Bugno (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) won the 100-yard backstroke while classmate Stephanie Conrad (Enola, Pa./East Pennsboro Area) nabbed the 200-yard backstroke.  The 100-yard breaststroke became a winning notch in freshman Kirsten Snyder’s (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) record while sophomore Amanda Guminski (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) swam a top time in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Junior Jess Gough (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) and sophomore Holly Miller (Lykens, Pa./Upper Dauphin) tacked on the final two women’s victories in the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly, respectively.

Senior Steve Hawley (New Cumberland, Pa./Trinity) picked up three victories on the men’s side.  He sprinted to a win in the 50-yard freestyle, and grabbed both the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events.

The Warriors claimed four other freestyle events with freshman Brian Fausel (Burdett, N.Y./Watkins Glen Central) displaying the best endurance in the 1,000-yard mixed freestyle.  Senior Brian Smith (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) picked up the 500-yard freestyle while classmates Stuart Olsen (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) and Mark Ross (Laurens, N.Y./Oneonta) won the 200 and 100-yard freestyles, respectively.

Freshman Brandon Good (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area) picked up the remaining men’s victory in the 200-yard butterfly.

Lycoming is next in action on Saturday, January 21, as the Warriors welcome Lebanon Valley College and FDU-Florham to Williamsport for a MAC double-dual showdown.  The event, beginning at 1:00 p.m., also marks the Senior Recognition Meet for Lycoming swimming.