LANCASTER, Pa. – Defending champion Swarthmore was selected by the conference head coaches as the favorite to repeat in the 2022-23 Centennial Conference Women's Swimming Preseason Poll. The Garnet compiled six first-place votes and 47 points to land atop the poll. 

Gettysburg was picked to take second place with 42 points and one first-place nod, while Franklin & Marshall (37) also garnered a first-place vote and was projected third. Ursinus landed in fourth place in the voting with 29 points, followed by Washington College (24), Dickinson (23), Bryn Mawr (15) and McDaniel (7). 

The 2022-23 season opens up this Saturday, Oct. 23 with all eight Centennial teams competing in dual meet action. The Centennial Conference Championship is slated for Feb. 16-19 at Gettysburg, while the NCAA Championships will take place from March 15-18 in Greensboro, N.C. 

2022-23 Schedule | 2022 Championship Results | 2022 All-Centennial Team | Record Book | All-Time Top 10

Centennial Conference women's swimmers returned to the pool last season following a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Swarthmore captured its first Centennial title in 20 years at the 2022 championship meet, cruising to the team title by a record 353.5-point margin over second-place Gettysburg. It marked the third CC title in program history for the Garnet, with the others occuring in 2001 and 2002.

The Ursinus duo of Sophie Lear and Missy Leonard swept the major awards, with Lear earning Most Outstanding Performer honors for the second time in her career and Leonard taking home the Most Outstanding Rookie award. Lear, who became the sixth swimmer to win multiple MOP awards in a career, holds six Centennial records and championship meet records, and collected multiple All-America honors, has graduated. Leonard is one of 28 returning all-conference performers in 2022-23. 

Swarthmore leads the way with 13 returning all-stars, led by multi-time recipients in Annabella Boardman, Liz Gallagher and Gaby Ma. Boardman owns the CC record in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.30), set on Nov. 6, 2021. Other All-CC returners for the Garnet include Annaliese Chen, Sarah Conley, Lexi Duffy, Georgi Mathews, Sophie Rotival, Erin Szuromi, Mackenzie Tucker, Ashley Wong, Cara Lee and Lauren Rohde. Rotival set a new championship record in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.76) last winter. 

Boardman, Ma and Rotival each qualified individually for the NCAA Championships last season, while Kaja Arusha, Wong, Lee and Szuromi also competed in relay events at NCAA's. 

Gettysburg (8), F&M (3), Dickinson (2) and Ursinus (2) also bring back multiple all-conference swimmers this year. The Bullets return Lauren Manning (two-time honoree), Lindsay Blake, Ava Collin, Annnabel Gorman, Olivia Pyott, Mia Yancey, Elissa Clancy and Regan Tait. 

Lear is joined by a total of 14 returning all-conference performers, including three swimmers that have earned All-CC recognition in multiple years. Gettysburg leads the way with seven returning all-stars, followed by Swarthmore (4), Dickinson (2) and Ursinus (1). Multiple-year all-conference returners include Swarthmore's Anna Lyn and Liz Gallagher along with Gettysburg's Megan Wojnar. 

Additional All-CC swimmers back in the pool this winter are Dickinson's Sarah Caron (two-time honoree) and Caroline Wasielevski, F&M's Rachel Baker, Julie McFadden and Sophie Moyer, and Ursinus' Leonard and Katie Barlow. 

2022-23 Centennial Conference Women's Swimming Preseason Poll