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 GRIMES EARNS CONFERENCE HONORS AFTER RECORD-SETTING WEEKEND Feb. 26: St. Lawrence University first year student Hannah Grimes has been named the Liberty League’s “Rookie of the Week” after her performances at the 2008 New York State Women’s College Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships.
Grimes earned her first ever NCAA “B” cut on her way to breaking the St. Lawrence University record in the 200-yard breaststroke. She accounted for almost a fifth of the Saints’ 520 points at the event, as she touched the wall in 2:25.44 in the 200-yard breaststroke, shattering the previous record and finishing second overall in the event.
The Hamden, CT native was also a member of the record-breaking 200-yard medley relay, which raced in a time of 1:52.20, earning fifth place overall.
The Liberty League also honored Union’s Molly Freeman as the “Diver of the Week” and Sara Callahan as the “Co-Swimmer of the Week,” while Vassar’s Emily Love shared that award.
Grimes is currently ranked 24 th in the nation in the 200-yard breaststroke, and will find out if she receives a berth to the NCAA Championships on Friday, February 29 at noon.
GRIMES BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD EN ROUTE TO FIRST NCAA CUT; SAINTS FINISH NINTH AT NYSWCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS Feb. 23: First-year Hannah Grimes earned her first ever NCAA cut on her way to breaking the St. Lawrence school record in the 200-yard breaststroke, as the rookie led the St. Lawrence University women’s swim team to a ninth place finish at the New York State Women’s College Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships, held at Nottingham High School in Syracuse, NY.
Grimes (Hamden, CT/ Hamden) accounted for almost a fifth of the Saints’ 520 points, tallying up 93 while breaking two school records as well as being on a record-breaking relay team.
The breaststroker shattered the previous team record, set by teammate Alida Gerritsen (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) two weeks ago against Alfred, in prelims Saturday morning as she clocked in with a career-best time of 2:27.42, just three-tenths shy of the NCAA ‘B’ cut.
Determined to reach her goal of making the cut, Grimes knocked nearly two more seconds off her preliminary time, touching the wall at 2:25.44, well under the NCAA mark and re-breaking the record while also finishing second in the event.
Gerritsen swam to a seventh place finish in the only event where the Saints had two swimmers in the top eight, as the Baltimore, MD native clocked in at 2:31.81, just over her preliminary time of 2:31.47.
Other finals swims included sophomore Abbey Lynch (Norwood, NY/St. Lawrence Central), who finished 11 th overall in the 100-yard freestyle with a 55.26, a season-best swim for the North Country native. First-year Katy Kozminski (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) also qualified for finals in the 100, placing 20 th overall with a 55.85, taking a second off her previous personal best time.
Senior co-captain Kim Watcke (Cheshire, CT/Sacred Heart Academy) swam to a 12 th place finish in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:13.62, a career-best. The backstroker, along with Lynch, Kozminski, and junior Ashley Bogosian (Massena, NY/The Peddie School), were members of the 400-yard freestyle relay, that finished eighth overall with a time of 2:43.20.
The ‘B’ relay in the same event, which included Grimes, Gerritsen, sophomore Kate Waters (East Dorset, VT/Burr and Burton Academy) and first-year Megan Derby (Cropseyville, NY/ Berlin) finished 21 st overall, touching at 3:51.99.
In prelims, Waters dropped over 22 seconds off her personal best 1650-yard freestyle time, coming in at 18:53.67 to earn her 15th place overall. Senior Katie Alexander (North Tonawanda, NY/ North Tonawanda) also had a phenomenal day in the mile, as she clocked in at 20:27.10, taking off just over half a minute from her previous best time, set just two weeks ago against the Saxons.
In the sprint races, Bogosian swam a 56.68 in the 100-yard freestyle, while Derby touched the wall at 56.99, a career best swim. Rookie Alden Bush swam the 200-yard breaststroke in a 2:46.78, while classmate Cassie Dudar swam a 2:23.83 in the 200-yard back, shaving four seconds off her previous personal best time.
Union College won the meet for the third time in four years with 1,207 points, well ahead of second place Ithaca College, who tallied 1,016.5 points. Division II competitor Le Moyne came in third with 940.5 points.
GRIMES, RELAYS CONTINUE TO SHINE AT NYSWCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS Feb. 22: Eight members of the St. Lawrence women’s swim team earned a spot in finals on Friday and two more team records fell as the Saints held on to their eighth place standing at the 2008 NYSWCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, being held at Nottingham High School in Syracuse, NY.
The Saints began prelims Friday morning with the 200-yard medley relay, where the team of senior co-captain Kim Watcke (Cheshire, CT/Sacred Heart Academy), first-year Hannah Grimes (Hamden, CT/Hamden), sophomore Abbey Lynch (Norwood, NY/St. Lawrence Central), and junior Ashley Bogosian (Massena, NY/The Peddie School) broke their second team record of the meet with a time of 1:52.24. In finals, the relay lowered their time to 1:52.20, earning them a fifth place finish overall.
Individually, Grimes led the Saints with a fifth place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, where the Hamden, CT native also broke the St. Lawrence record in prelims with a career-best time of 1:08.86, and lowered it at night, finishing with a time of 1:08.76.
Watcke grabbed a seventh place finish in the 100-yard backstroke, clocking in at 1:02.11 in prelims, and 1:02.37 in finals. During her lead-off leg of the 400-yard medley relay, Watcke swam a 1:01.97, a season-best time.
Also earning a top-eight finish was Lynch, who touched seventh in the 100-yard fly with a time of 1:01.30. In prelims, the North Country native clocked in at 1:01.00, her fastest time this season.
Junior Alida Gerritsen (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) swam to a ninth place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, improving upon her time from prelims, touching the wall at 1:09.47, a season-best by over a second and a half. Rookie Megan Derby ( Cropseyville, NY/ Berlin) continued to have a great meet as well, placing 12 th in the 100 fly with a time of 1:02.87. Her prelim time of 1:02.36 was a career-best time.
Classmate Cassie Dudar ( North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex Regional) also placed in the top-16, coming in 15 th in the 400-yard IM with a time of 4:58.93, well under her previous career-best time of 5:10.62, set just over a month ago.
Rounding out other final finishes first-year Alden Bush ( Hingham, MA/ Hingham), who dropped an immense amount of time in the 100-yard breaststroke, earning a 20 th place finish with a career-best time of 1:14.80, nearly three and a half seconds under her previous best time. Bogosian, placed 21 st in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:04.34 and earned a career best time in the event earlier Friday in prelims, clocking in at 1:04.20.
In the preliminary session, sophomore Kate Waters (East Dorset, VT/Burr and Burton Academy) earned a season best time in the 200-yard free, touching at 2:04.13. Senior Katie Alexander (North Tonawanda, NY/North Tonawanda) continued to have one of the best meets of her career as the distance swimmer dropped more than three seconds off her personal best time in the event, clocking in at 2:10.00. First-year Katy Kozminski (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) took just over half a second off her career best time in the 100-yard back, touching the wall at 1:09.10.
The Saints ‘B’ 200-yard medley relay, which included Kozminski, Gerritsen, Derby, and Bush came in 21 st overall with a time of 1:57.10.
To cap off the evening, the 800-yard free relay, which included Waters, Alexander, Dudar, and Bush, sparked a lot of Saints energy, as each swimmer swam well under their previous best times, some of which were achieved this morning. The Saints hope to use that energy to start the last day of competition off strong, with competition beginning Saturday morning at 10:30am.
SAINTS SHATTER 21-YEAR OLD RECORD IN DAY ONE OF CHAMPIONSHIPS Feb. 21: The St. Lawrence University women’s swim team got out to a great start at the NYSWCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday, as day one not only included the breaking of the third team record this season, but many personal records, too, as nearly every Saint recorded season or career-best times in each of their individual races.
St. Lawrence is currently in eighth place with 185 points and are one point behind RPI in a 17-team field. Union, Nazareth, and Ithaca round out the top three spots, with only one point separating the Golden Flyers and the Bombers.
The 400-yard medley relay of senior co-captain Kim Watcke (Cheshire, CT/Sacred Heart Academy), first-year Hannah Grimes (Hamden, CT/Hamden), sophomore Abbey Lynch (Norwood, NY/St. Lawrence Central), and junior Ashley Bogosian (Massena, NY/The Peddie School) lowered the St. Lawrence team record, previously set in 1987, by more than four seconds, clocking in at 4:06.14 in prelims. Their swim in finals earned them a sixth place finish overall with a time of 4:07.29.
The Saints’ ‘B’ relay, which included first-years Katy Kozminski (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), Rookie Cassie Dudar (North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex Regional), and Megan Derby (Grafton, NY/Berlin), as well as junior Alida Gerritsen (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute), finished fifth amongst the other teams’ ‘B’ relays and 21st overall with a 4:14.28.
In the opening event of the night, the 200-yard free relay, which included Lynch, Watcke, Kozminski, and Bogosian the Saints took fifth place honors with a time of 1:40.39, hundredths away from breaking another team record. The ‘B’ relay included Gerritsen, Grimes, rookies Megan Derby (Grafton, NY/Berlin), and Alden Bush (Hingham, MA/Hingham) came in 20th place with a time of 1:43.70.
Lynch led the way for the Scarlet and Brown in the individual races, picking up a 10th place finish in the 50 free with a season-best time of 25.29, just ahead of her preliminary time of 25.30. Bogosian improved from 16th place in prelims to 13th overall, touching with a 25.52 a season-best. Rounding out the consolation heat of the event was Kozminski, who finished 15th with a time of 25.66. In prelims, the rookie clocked in at 25.41, more than two-tenths under her career best time.
Derby finished in a tie for 24th place in the 50 during prelims, forcing a swim-off with Ithaca’s Kara Senecal, which Derby won with a 25.68 to give her a spot in the bonus heat of the event. She was able to improve upon her place and earn a 22 nd place finish overall with a time of 25.92. Her prelims time was a career-best by just over three-tenths of a second.
In the 200 IM, Grimes earned 17th place with a time of 2:15.17, a career-best time by over three and a half seconds. Gerritsen swam a season best time of 2:18.02 in prelims and earned a 23 rd place finish overall in finals with a time of 2:19.71.
Sophomore Kate Waters (East Dorset, VT/Burr and Burton Academy) improved upon her 1 th place finish in the 500 free in prelims to come in 15 th, clocking in at 5:26.82, just above her prelim time of 2:26.78. The distance swimmer’s swim in the morning was a season-best time by nearly 12 seconds.
In the preliminary session, senior Katie Alexander (North Tonawanda, NY/North Tonawanda) swam a career best time in the 500-yard free, touching the wall at 5:46.82, dropping more than 13 seconds off her previous best time. Rookie Cassie Dudar (North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex Regional) also dropped time in her race, cutting more than five seconds off her 200-yard IM, finishing at 2:21.08.
The Saints will look to add to their accolades on day two of the three-day meet Friday morning with preliminaries beginning at 10:30am.
SAINTS PREPARED FOR NYSWCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS Feb. 18: After months of tough practices and competitions, training trip and taper, the St. Lawrence University women’s swim team is ready to take on many of the swimmers in the state at the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) Swimming and Diving Championships in Syracuse, NY this upcoming weekend.
The six-session meet will span over three days, with prelims being held Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings at Max Newman Pool at Nottingham High School beginning at 10:30am. The top 24 finishers in each event will then compete in finals, which will be held each of the three evenings beginning at 6:30pm.
With the addition of Stevens Institute of Technology and Cazenovia, the meet grows to 17 teams, including Liberty League opponents Clarkson, Skidmore, RPI, Vassar, William Smith and Union. In addition to Stevens and Cazenovia, other schools participating in the meet include Ithaca, Nazareth, Rochester Institute of Technology, Wells College, Alfred, Hartwick, Utica, and Division II competitor LeMoyne College. The Saints will look to their sprinters and specialty stroke swimmers to lead them to improve on their 9 th place finish last season, but Saints Head Coach Bob Clemmer believes it takes much more than a couple of good swimmers to succeed at a meet of this caliber.
“Our program’s depth has grown in the last year as these swimmers have prepared for this meet, and our team as a whole is ready to compete together,” Clemmer said. “The work ethic of this team and the amount of work we have been able to give them enables them to have three very productive days of competition. Many college teams will have one day that is a little off in the three-day meet, but the consistency, work ethic and camaraderie of this team will really show at championships.”
Leading the way for the sprinters will be the North Country duo of sophomore Abbey Lynch ( Norwood, NY/St. Lawrence Central) and junior Ashley Bogosian ( Massena, NY/Peddie). Lynch hopes to improve upon her finishes from last year’s meet, where she accounted for more than a fifth of the Saints points after earning two sixth place finishes in the 50 and 100-yard freestyles, as well as an eighth place finish in the 100-yard butterfly. In addition to her individual races, Lynch was a member of four top-eight relay teams.
After an impressive 2007-2008 season thus far that included being named Liberty League “Swimmer of the Week” after the first weekend of competition, Bogosian will compete in both the 50 and 100-yard free, as well as the 100-yard backstroke.
In addition to Lynch and Bogosian, St. Lawrence has three additional swimmers slated to score points in the 50 free, including senior co-captain Kim Watcke (Cheshire, CT/Sacred Heart Academy) and first-years Katy Kozminski (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) and Megan Derby (Cropseyville, NY/Berlin).
Watcke, who has been a standout for the Saints all four years of her career, will look to final in the 50 and her two specialties, the 100 and 200-yard backstroke,
Kozminski has had an outstanding rookie season with a 10th place finish in the 50 at Liberty Leagues, and has only improved upon her times since then. Derby, who finished 9th in the same race, has also shown incredible improvement this season and has become a top sprinter for the Saints. Kozminski will compete in the 50 and 100, as well as the 100 back, while Derby will swim the sprint freestyle races in addition to the 100-yard fly.
In the specialty races, the Scarlet and Brown will see two of its own compete for top honors in both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke as junior Alida Gerritsen (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic) and rookie Hannah Grimes (Hamden, CT/Hamden) are both currently ranked among the top ten in both events. Tenths of a second separate the two athletes in both races. Grimes won the 100 at the 2007 Liberty League Championships, while Gerritsen who was abroad during the fall semester, was a top-eight finisher in each race last year at this meet. Both Saints will also be competing in the 200-yard IM, where they both are currently slated to earn points in the race.
First-year Alden Bush ( Hingham, MA/ Hingham) could also be racing in the breaststroke races, but will also be competing in the 50 free and the 100 fly. Classmate Cassie Dudar ( North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex Regional) will be competing in the 200-yard back, 200-yard fly, and 200 IM.
The distance races will see two St. Lawrence veterans as senior Katie Alexander ( North Tonawanda, NY/ North Tonawanda) and sophomore Kate Waters (East Dorset, VT/Burr and Burton) will be competing in the 200, 500 and 1650-yard freestyle races. Waters had an extraordinary NYSWCAA meet last season as a first-year and has only continued to improve upon career bests throughout her sophomore campaign. Alexander has improved each year at the championship swim meet, and will hope to drop more time in her final meet as a Saint.
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