DaSILVA NAMED CO-ROOKIE OF THE

WEEK BY LIBERTY LEAGUE

Feb. 20: First year student Nikki DaSilva was honored by the Liberty League on Monday, as she was selected Co-Rookie of the Week thanks to her performance at the state championships in Syracuse, NY.

DaSilva finished her rookie campaign in style at the state championships at Nottingham High School. DaSilva broke the St. Lawrence record in the 100 Back, finishing in 4th place with a time of 1:00.78. She was also the first leg of the 200 Medley Relay team that set a new university mark of 1:54.15.

The Stony Brook, NY native also finished sixth in the state in the 200 Back (2:13.81) and the 50 Free (25.29).

It was the second time this season that the league selected DaSilva as the Rookie of the Week. She shared the honors this week with Sara Orndorff from Rensselaer.

SAINTS FINISH EIGHTH IN THE STATE

Feb. 19: The St. Lawrence University women's swimming and diving team completed competition at the NYSWCAA Swimming Championships on Saturday in Syracuse, NY. The Saints finished in eighth place out of fifteen teams, moving up two spots from 2005.

St. Lawrence had another impressive day in the pool in the final day of competition, led by the backstroke duo of sophomore Kim Watcke and first year student Nikki DaSilva. The tandem finished 5th and 6th, respectively, in the 200 Back for a total of 49.0 points. Watcke raced in 2:13.77 while DaSilva was .04 behind at 2:13.81.

Both swimmers also teamed up with junior Kate Farrell and first year Meaghan Vaughn in the 400 Free Relay. The Saints raced in a time of 3:46.34, earning 44.0 points for their 8th place finish.

Farrell also had a solid day in the 200 Breaststroke, where she finished 10th in the state with a time of 2:34.50 and picked up 17.0 points for the Saints. First year student Alida Gerritsen, who had an outstanding rookie campaign in her first state meet, finished 12th in the state in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:35.56.

Another notable finish for St. Lawrence came in the 200 Butterfly, where first year Devan Meserve tacked 20.0 points on to the Saints final score of 544.0 points with a ninth place finish. The Dover, NH native turned in a time of 2:19.31.

The state meet concludes the 2005-2006 season for the Saints women's swimming and diving team. After a fantastic performance was turned in from the women's team, the men will look for the same success at the UNYSCSA Championships next week. The meet is set to begin on Wednesday, February 22nd at Nottingham High School in Syracuse, NY.

DaSILVA AND WATCKE LEAD

SAINTS CHARGE AT STATES

Feb. 18: The St. Lawrence University women's swimming and diving team completed the second day of competition at the State Championships Friday, with the Saints making the biggest move of the day. The team jumped two spots thanks to outstanding performances across the board, including a university record time in the 100 Backstroke by first year Nikki DaSilva.

The state meet opened on Thursday and the Saints found themselves in 10th place overall out of 15 teams. First year student Alida Gerritsen finished 13th in the 200IM with a time of 2:19.63, while the 200 Free Relay team comprised of Gerritsen, DaSilva, junior Kate Farrell, and sophomore Kim Watcke raced in a time of 1:42.29. The time earned them 7th place and 46.0 points. DaSilva and Watcke also had impressive times in the 50 Freestyle, as both finished in the top ten. DaSilva finished 6th overall with a time of 25.29, with Watcke close behind in 8th place (25.36).

After putting themselves in position, the Saints then made their move on Friday evening, climbing two spots up to eighth place with a total of 383 points. It was truly a team effort, as notable times came from a slew of Saints. First year Devan Meserve got things started with a 13th place finish in the 400 IM. Her time of 4:59.05 netted 14.0 points for the team.

In the 100 Back, DaSilva earned 4th place overall with a new school record time of 1:00.78. Not far behind in 5th place was Watcke, whose time of 1:01.15 was also under the old school mark. Sophomore Kim Myers also contributed 11.0 points for St. Lawrence in the 100 Back, taking 16th place with a time of 1:05.90. Combined, the underclassmen grossed 62.0 points in that event alone.

Finally, another trio of Saints scored 52.0 points in the 100 Breast, with Farrell leading the way. After qualifying for an individual final for the first time in her career, the Ogdensburg, NY native took 8th place overall (1:11.60). Her preliminary time of 1:10.87 was a career best by two seconds.

Joining Farrell in the points for the 100 Breaststroke were Gerritsen and fellow first year Rachel Manchester. Gerritsen finished in 11th place (16 points) with a time of 1:11.40, while Manchester was close behind in 13th position thanks to a time of 1:13.13 (14 points).

The Saints have put themselves in excellent position heading into the final day of competition. On Saturday, the squad will look for solid performances again out of DaSilva and Watcke, this time in the 200 Back, and Meserve in the 200 Fly.

SAINTS PRIMED FOR SOLID

SHOWING AT STATE MEET

Feb. 8: With the regular dual-meet season completed, the St. Lawrence University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams now turn their attention to the New York State Conference Meet in Syracuse, NY.

The women’s team is set to swim on from Wednesday, February 15 th through Saturday, February 18 th at Nottingham High School. The men will take to the pool at Nottingham High School the following Wednesday, February 22 nd through Saturday February 25 th. Pre-lims for each event are set to begin at 10:30am, with the qualifiers returning for the finals at 6:30pm.

The Saints women’s team showed at the Liberty League Championships that they were capable of making a run at the State Meet, finishing in 5 th place overall. Their noteworthy performance at the conference meet is due to their exciting group of first year students and reliable upperclassmen.

Nikki DaSilva and Devan Meserve have had break-out seasons in their rookie campaigns and hope to continue their successes at the state meet. Meserve has specialized in the IM and Distance Freestyle, while DaSilva has been outstanding this season in both the Backstroke and Sprint Freestyle events.

Sophomore Kim Watcke and junior Kate Farrell have been solid veterans for head coach Bob Clemmer and the St. Lawrence women’s team this season. Watcke will be alongside DaSilva in the Back and Sprint Freestyle, while Farrell will compete in the IM and Breaststroke.

On the men’s side, senior Brian Wasserstein looks to finish his career in style at the State Championships, as he will be competing in the IM and Backstroke. He hopes to pass the torch to freshmen Garrett Spencer, Matt Feldman, and Mike Trumbower, who have been key to the team’s accomplishments this season, including a 6 th place finish at the Liberty League Championships.

Spencer has been the Saints’ go-to in the Distance Freestyle events, and States will be no different. He is penciled in to swim the 200 Free, 500 Free, and 1650 Free events. Trumbower will represent the Saints in a variety of Sprint Freestyle races, including the 100, 200, and 500. Feldman will also compete at States in the 100 and 200 Freestyle, and adds the 100 Back to his schedule.

The Saints also anticipate solid performances from the 200 Freestyle, 200 Medley, and 800 Freestyle relay teams. The squad also hopes they can pick up some added points thanks to freshman diver Eric Velasquez, who expects to have a notable showing.