BOGOSIAN, IBLER NAMED SWIMMERS OF THE WEEK: GRIMES EARNS ROOKIE HONORS

Oct. 29: Junior Ashley Bogosian, sophomore Robo Ibler, and first year Hannah Grimes earned Liberty League honors after a plethora of fast races and great finishes over the weekend against conference opponents Clarkson and Skidmore.

Ibler (left) was named Swimmer of the Week on Monday after the defending Liberty League champion in the 50 yard free sprinted to three individual first place finishes in the Saints first two meets against Clarkson and Skidmore over the weekend, winning the 50 yard freestyle both days and the 100 yard freestyle against Skidmore. He was also a member of two first place relay teams-- the 200 medley relay against Clarkson and the 400 yard medley first Skidmore. The Independence, MN native was twice named Rookie of the Week last year.

Bogosian (right) was also named Liberty League Swimmer of the Week after an exceptional performance at both swim meets over the weekend. The Massena, NY native had four individual wins in the Saints first week of competition, sweeping the 50 and 100 yard freestyles in both meets against Clarkson and Skidmore. She was also a member of the winning 200 free relay team in the Clarkson meet and the winning 400 medley relay team in the Skidmore meet. Bogosian earned Liberty League Rookie of the Week honors during the 2005-2006 season.

Grimes (left) earned Rookie of the Week honors after she collected her first collegiate win in the 200 yard Breaststroke against Skidmore on Saturday, beating the rest of the field by eight seconds, clocking in at 2:34.71. The Hamden, CT swimmer was also a member of two first place relay teams, the 400 Medley Relay against Skidmore, and the 200 Medley relay against Clarkson.

The Saints will compete against the Nazareth Golden Flyers this Saturday in Rochester, NY. The meet is set to begin at 3:00pm.

(Photos by Tara Freeman)

SAINTS SWEEP WEEKEND WITH WINS

OVER SKIDMORE

Oct. 27: The St. Lawrence men’s and women’s swim teams won their second meet of the weekend against Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY Saturday afternoon. The men won 106.5-60.5, while the women beat the Thoroughbreds 120.5-83.5.

Robo Ibler and Ashley Bogosian led the Saints in the pool, both having two solid first place finishes in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle. Bogosian who clocked in at 26.43 in the 50, was quickly followed by teammate Megan Derby, who touched at 26.64. In the 100, the Massena, NY sprinter came in at 57.83, nearly half a second ahead of Skidmore’s Suzanna Lourie. Bogosian also anchored the victorious 400-yard medley relay, which also included senior captain Kim Watcke, first year Hannah Grimes, and sophomore Abbey Lynch.

Ibler was a body length ahead of the field in the 50-yard free, finished with a time of 23.30. First year Mike McPhillips followed with a strong second place finish, touching at 24.32, while sophomore Brandon Barone tied for third not far off McPhillips with a time of 24.54. Ibler sped ahead in the 100-yard free, taking it out in a 24.9 and finishing with a 51.48, two seconds ahead of junior Mike Trumbower, who placed second just ahead of Skidmore’s Tom Saglimbeni.

Lynch tied for first in an exciting 200-yard freestyle race with the Thoroughbreds’ Sonia Segal-Smith. While Lynch took the race out a little faster than Segal-Smith, the Skidmore swimmer came back in the second 50 to make up the deficit. Both competitors battled through the third and fourth 50s, neither giving the other any kind of a substantial lead, and Lynch and Segal-Smith hit the pads at the finish to come out equals, both clocking in at 2:04.22.

The Norwood, NY native was also a member of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay, comprised of Derby, first-year Katy Kozminski, and junior Meaghan Vaughn, winning with a time of 3:52.00.

Watcke once again found herself in front in the backstroke race, clocking in at 2:22.03 in the 200-yard back for a first place finish, more than five seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

Waters, who won the 200 and 500-yard freestyles against Clarkson, had an impressive 1000-yard free, the first of her collegiate career. The East Dorset, VT native started out just behind Skidmore’s Jen Piepenbrink, for the first half of the race, but turned on the heat at the 500-yard mark as passed the Skidmore swimmer nearly 100 yards later. Waters negative-split the 1000 to win it with a time of 12:02.24.

Grimes had her first collegiate win in the 200-yard breaststroke and finished nearly eight seconds ahead of the entire field, clocking in at 2:34.71.

In addition to Ibler, the men found themselves with an equal number of first place finishers, which included senior captain Dave Burnham, juniors Mike Trumbower and captain Matt Feldman, and sophomore Matt Kirkpatrick. Burnham won the 1000-yard free for the second time this weekend with a time of 11:33.29, with junior Russ Hendrick only five seconds behind, touching for second with an 11:38.54.

Trumbower tallied his first win of the season in the 200-yard freestyle, taking the lead early on and never giving it up, touching the pads at 1:56.84, over three seconds ahead of his competitors.

Feldman also had his first win of 2007-2008 in the 200-yard backstroke as he lead a 1-2-3 finish for the Saints in the event with a time of 2:14.19. Hendrick came in second, while senior Geoff Walano placed third. Kirkpatrick won the 400-yard IM for St. Lawrence in 4:44.77, with sophomore Stephen Dally coming in second.

The relay team of Feldman, Dally, Ibler, and McPhillips took first in the 400-yard Medley Relay with a time of 3:57.46, half the length of the pool ahead of the rest of the relays.

The Saints, who are both 2-0 so far this season, will travel to Nazareth next Saturday to compete against the Golden Flyers in Rochester, NY. The meet is set to begin at 3:00pm.

MEN, WOMEN VICTORIOUS IN NORTH COUNTRY DUEL IN THE POOL

Oct. 26: The St. Lawrence men’s and women’s swim teams won their first meet of the season against North Country rival Clarkson Friday afternoon in the Frank and Lee Augsbury Natatorium. The women won 116-79, while the men battled the Golden Knights throughout the meet and won after a 1-2 finish in the final race of the day, the 200 Free Relay.

The women were led by junior sprinter Ashley Bogosian and sophomore middle-distance swimmer Kate Waters, who each had two big wins for the Saints.

Bogosian’s first race of the afternoon was the 50 free, where she was first off the blocks and never looked back, clocking in at a speedy 25.68, more than half a second ahead of Clarkson’s Laura Shaddak. Despite swimming in the outside lane in the 100-yard free, the Massena, NY native earned another first place finish with a time of 57.25. First year Megan Derby finished a close second with a time of 57.82.

Waters had a big win in the 200-yard freestyle, where she came from just behind Clarkson’s Katherine Gawrys and beat her on the wall at the 125-yard mark to pull ahead of the pack and was able to maintain a steady lead throughout the remaining 75 yards, coming in with a final time of 2:08.24. Her second win came in the 500-yard freestyle, where she and teammate Devan Meserve broke away from the other swimmers in the race after 125 yards. Waters’ lead continued to grow, as she clocked in with a final time of 5:51.88. Meserve placed second at 5:58.32.

Meserve also tallied a win for the Saints in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 12:08.94. The race for second place in the event brought the crowd to its feet as Saint senior Katie Alexander and Clarkson’s Elena Kuo-LeBlanc duked it out, with LeBlanc holding a slight lead until Alexander poured on the heat in the final 35 yards of the race to come in second by nearly two seconds.

Senior captain Kim Watcke tallied a win for St. Lawrence in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:04.37 with teammate Emily Baron coming in just behind her at 1:06.16. Watcke was a member of the winning 200 medley relay team, which also consisted of first years Hannah Grimes and Megan Derby, and sophomore Abbey Lynch. Lynch won the 100 butterfly for the Saints with a 1:02.20.

In the men’s meet, every Saint scored crucial points to pull past the Golden Knights. Sophomores Robo Ibler and Matt Kirkpatrick, along with senior captain Dave Burnham each had important individual wins. Ibler’s win came in the 50 free after he posted a time of 22.39. The Independence, MN native also came in second in the 100 free, only 12 one-hundreths behind Clarkson’s Corey Van Woert.

Kirkpatrick touched the wall first in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:09.51, and placed third in the 100-yard butterfly for the Saints, only five tenths behind first place. The Ridgefield, CT native also competed in the 500-yard free, where he finished second.

Burnham swam the 1000 free and gained the lead after only 200 yards and was able to stay ahead for the duration of the race, clocking in at 11:19.69. The Wilton, CT swimmer also competed in the 500-yard free, where he placed third behind Kirkpatrick.

The relays were the real key for the men’s team, as they swept both the 200 medley and free relays with 1-2 finishes. The free relay at the end was one of the most exciting races of the meet, as junior captain Matt Feldman led off for the Saints A relay, and first year Rob Sibley gave St. Lawrence a slight lead on the second leg. Burnham maintained a slight edge going into the final leg of the race, where sophomore Brandon Barone sealed the deal, finishing with a final time of 1:36.78. The B relay, which included seniors Geoff and Steve Walano, along with first years Jared Pellerin and Mike McPhillips, also swam past Clarkson’s A relay, guaranteeing the Saints’ victory.

The Saints will travel to Saratoga Springs, NY on Saturday to compete against the Thoroughbreds of Skidmore. The meet is set to begin at 1:00pm.