LYNCH NAMED SWIMMER OF THE WEEK

Jan. 21: Sophomore Abbey Lynch was named Liberty League Co-Swimmer of the Week on Monday after posting two individual first-place finishes and taking part in two winning relay teams for the St. Lawrence women's swim team over the weekend.

Lynch (Norwood, NY/St. Lawrence Central) helped lead the Saints to a 118-78 win over Potsdam on Friday, as she was a member of the winning 200-medley relay and also added an individual win in the 100-yard free (55.90). She was one of two individual winners for the women on Saturday in their loss to Hartwick College, coming away victorious for the second day in a row in the 100 free (56.23). She was also a member of the winning 200 medley relay against the Hawks.

Lynch and the rest of the Saints will travel to Clinton, NY on Saturday to face Liberty League opponent Hamilton College in dual meet action. The meet is set to begin at 1:00pm.

HARTWICK DEFEATS SAINTS

Jan. 19: Junior Alida Gerritsen, sophomore Abbey Lynch, and first-year Rob Sibley each earned first place points in individual races and two Saints’ relays came out on top, but it wasn’t enough to give the St. Lawrence men’s and women’s swim teams a victory on Saturday afternoon, as Hartwick College defeated the Saints in Oneonta, NY.

The men lost to the Hawks, 143-62, while the women fell 118-77.

Gerritsen (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) won her second individual race of the weekend in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing with a time of 2:34.84, followed by teammate Cassie Dudar (North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex Regional), who came in second. Gerritsen also came in second in the 200-yard IM (2:20.97)

Lynch’s second win in the past two days came in the 100-yard freestyle, clocking in at 56.23, more than a second and a half ahead of the next finisher.

Both Gerritsen and Lynch were members of the victorious 200-yard medley relay team, which also included senior captain Kim Watcke (Cheshire, CT/Sacred Heart Academy) and junior Ashley Bogosian (Massena, NY/Peddie), who touched two seconds ahead of Hartwick, finishing with a time of 1:56.18.

Watcke grabbed second place in the 200-yard back with a time of 2:17.07, while first-year Hannah Grimes (Hamden, CT/Hamden) came in third behind her (2:24.72). Grimes tallied second place points in the 200-yard free, finishing with a time of 2:05.50.

In the sprint races, Bogosian also in second in the 50-yard freestyle, touching the wall at 26.02. She was closely followed by teammate Katy Kozminski (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), who came in at 26.20, and earned a third place finish behind Lynch in the 100-yard free (57.97).

For the men, Sibley (Hudson, NH/Alvirne) took first place honors in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:30.50), followed by teammates sophomore Matt Kirkpatrick (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) and junior Chris Judge (Cranford, NJ/Cranford), who placed second and third, respectively.

First-year Jared Pellerin ( Plattsburgh, NY/Seton Catholic) had a second place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle, clocking in at 10:48.73, knocking off more than three seconds off his previous career best time, while senior co-captain Dave Burnham came in behind him in third with a time of 10:54.01, a career best by nearly nine seconds.

Burnham was also a member of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that took first place points, along with co-captain Matt Feldman (Weston, MA/Weston), senior Steve Walano (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) and sophomore Brandon Barone (Westport, CT/Staples).

The Saints, who are both now 4-4 in their dual meet season, will travel to Hamilton College next weekend for Liberty League action in the pool. The meet is scheduled to begin at 1:00pm.

SAINTS SWEEP POTSDAM IN HOME FINALE

Jan. 18: The St. Lawrence men’s and women’s swim team dove right into 2008 and came out with a pair of wins to start the second half of the season off right over North Country opponent Potsdam State Friday afternoon in the Frank and Lee Augsbury Natatorium, improving both their dual meet records to 4-3.

The women got the momentum going for the Saints as they opened up with a first place medley relay swim, which included senior captain Kim Watcke (Cheshire, CT/Sacred Heart Academy), junior Alida Gerritsen (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Insitute), sophomore Abbey Lynch (Norwood, NY/St. Lawrence Central), and junior Ashley Bogosian (Massena, NY/Peddie).

Lynch, Gerritsen and Watcke each earned first place finishes in individual races, as Lynch led a 1-2-3 finish in the 100-yard free for the Saints by placing first with a time of 55.90, followed by Bogosian (58.04) and first-year Hannah Grimes (Hamden, CT/Hamden).

Gerritsen, who had been abroad in the fall, came back and added a punch to the Saints lineup, winning the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:19.66, following closely by first-year Cassie Dudar (North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex Regional), who placed second. Watcke came out on top in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:03.53, a season-best time.

Others taking first place honors included Grimes, who touched first in the 200-yard free with a time of 2:03.36, followed by Bogosian, who touched second at 2:06.11. First-year Katy Kozminski (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) won the 50-yard free with a collegiate career best time of 25.69, nearly half a second faster than her previous best time this season.

Sophomore Kate Waters (East Dorset, VT/Burr and Burton) was victorious in both the 1000 and 500-yard freestyle races, clocking in at 11:31.47 and 5:40.32, respectively. Senior Katie Alexander ( North Tonawanda, NY/ North Tonawanda) helped pace the Saints by coming in third in both races, swimming a career best time in her 1000, coming in at 12:26.36, while earning a seasonal best time in the 500, touching the wall at 6:02.81.

First year Megan Derby ( Cropseyville, NY/Berlin Jr/Sr. High) also led a 1-2-3 Saints’ finish in the 100-yard fly, touching at 1:03.36, with Dudar and first-year Alden Bush (Hingham, MA/Hingham) coming in second and third, respectively.

On the men’s side, first year Jared Pellerin ( Plattsburgh, NY/Seton Catholic) led the Saints’ efforts with three individual wins. Pellerin swam back-to-back victories in the 1000-yard freestyle (10:51.61) and 200-yard freestyle (1:55.46). The distance freestyler also won the 500-yard free, clocking in at 5:16.46, leading his team to a 1-2-3 finish with sophomore Matt Kirkpatrick (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) and senior captain Dave Burnham (Wilton, CT/Wilton), placing second and third.

Kirkpatrick tallied two wins of his own in the 200-yard IM, touching the wall at 2:09.04, followed closely by first year Rob Sibley (Hudson, NH/Alvirne), who came in with a time of 2:11.46, and in the 100-yard butterfly, winning with a time of 58.43.

Junior Mike Trumbower ( Naples, NY/ Naples) claimed victory in the 100-yard freestyle with a 52.65. Junior captain Matt Feldman ( Weston, MA/Weston) led a 1-2-3 sweep in the 100-yard backstroke, winning with a time of 59.31. Senior Geoff Walano ( Cranford, NJ/ Cranford) and junior Russell Hendrick came in second and third, behind Feldman.

The men’s 200-yard free relay, including Feldman, Burnham, senior Steve Walano (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) and Brandon Barone (Westport, CT/Staples) took first place points to end the meet on a high note for the Saints.

In diving, junior Jason Johnson ( Newark, NY/ Newark) took second place points in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.

The meet marked the last home competition for six seniors: Kim Watcke, Katie Alexander, Angela Lathwell, Steve and Geoff Walano, and Dave Burnham.

The Saints will travel to Oneonta, NY to face Hartwick College on Saturday, January 19 th. The meet is set to begin at 1:00.