Scranton Named Favorites In Preseason Women's Swimming Poll

MADISON, N.J. – After claiming the first Landmark Conference Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship last season, The University of Scranton has been picked as the favorite to claim the 2009 title as selected in the Landmark Preseason Women’s Swimming & Diving Poll. The head women’s swimming & diving coaches and sports information directors at each institution that sponsors the sport were polled for the preseason ballot.

Scranton holds the top spot by a sizeable margin, claiming each first-place vote to collect 60 points. The distance between second and third could not have been closer as The Catholic University of America was second with 41 points, just one ahead of Goucher College which earned 40.

New head coach Paul DeAngelo assumes the head coaching duties for Scranton after 11 years as an assistant for the Royals. He helped guide the Royals to the conference title a year ago, and also earned Swimmer of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors. Swimmer of the Year Erin O’Connor is back as are each of the Royals’ first-team All-Conference athletes.

The Cardinals also have a new coach as Paul Waas takes over after two years as head coach of Hamline University in Minnesota. He will work with a team that was the runners-up at the Landmark Championships last season. Catholic returns All-Conference competitors Lisa Brooks and Helene Nicoletti, but did lose six seniors, several of whom were part of winning relays.

Goucher finished third at the first Landmark Championships with 328.5 points, and had four individual event winners, and another two relay victories at the meet. Both of the individual event winners, Britt Hogstram and Bethany Natoli, are back though the team will have to replace six seniors from last year’s team.

Susquehanna University is fourth with 36 points after placing fourth at the Landmark Championships last season. The team had a pair of All-Conference performers, with one of them, Lindsey Jankiewicz, returning this season. Overall Susquehanna lost six seniors to graduation but bring back 14 athletes for first-year head coach Dan Phillips who previously was an assistant coach at Ohio State.

Drew University earned 27 points in the voting to place fifth. The Rangers earned a fifth-place finish in the Landmark last season, and also have a new head coach, as Eric Sheingoltz takes over after working as an assistant coach at Columbia. The roster has expanded with a total of 17 athletes on the team entering the preseason led by Kati Eggert, the team’s top returning point producer from the Championships.

Sixteen points was enough to put the United States Merchant Marine Academy in sixth place in the poll. The Mariners placed sixth at the Landmark meet last season and have 11 student-athletes on the roster entering this season. Maggie Edwards picked up the most points on the team at the Landmark meet among the returnees.

Juniata College rounds out the poll with 11 points. The Eagles placed seventh at the Landmark meet last season with just four competitors, but enter this season with 13 competitors on the preseason roster with sophomore Lindsay Cooper leading the way. Another team with a new coach, the Eagles will be led by Tom Benoit who will be in his first head coaching position after competing at Westminster College.

Catholic has already begun its 2008-09 season, and four Landmark teams open with dual meets on Oct. 25.