Championship Page | Psych Sheet
Corinne Capodanno, Ursinus
The 23rd annual Centennial Conference women's swimming championship begins Friday and concludes Sunday at Gettysburg College.
Ursinus enters the championship undefeated and will look to capture its third consecutive title. Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall will be the Bears top competition. The Bullets will have to avenge an early-season loss to Ursinus to claim its 15th title. The Diplomats are seeking their first title since 2010 and fourth overall.
What to Watch For
Friday
Peyten Lyons, Ursinus
With the 200 freestyle relay as the first event, the championship should have an exciting start. Gettysburg (1.39.13) and Washington College (1:39.62) will look to chase down defending champion Ursinus (1:38.21) for the gold. In the 500 free, Ursinus senior Corinne Capodanno (Claymont, Del.) will look to become the program's first champion in the event, but will be challenged by F&M junior Rebecca Meyers (Baltimore, Md.) and Dickinson freshman Olivia Leyman (Mount Kisco, N.Y.). Ursinus and Franklin & Marshall will battle for the gold in the 200 IM. Ursinus' Peyten Lyons (Palmyra, Pa.) and 2015 champion Katie Pielmeier (Palmerton, Pa.), and F&M's Melissa Mullin (Medford, N.J.) and Kellen McDonald (Columbia, Md) will all be in the mix for gold. In the 50 free, Ursinus' Micaela Lyons (Plainfield, N.J.) and Capodanno, McDaniel's Syd Knadler (Crowley Lake, Calif.), and Gettysburg's Inayah Sherry (Philip, Barbados) are the top contenders. The 400 MR will end the first day of competition. It will be a close race between the Bears (3:53.20), the Bullets (3:56.94), and the Diplomats (3:59.89).
Saturday
Caroline Moyer, Gettysburg
In the 200 MR, Ursinus (1:47.67) will look to hold off Gettysburg (1:47.86) and F&M (1:50.79) to win its first title in the event since 1994. The 400 IM will be a close race between 2015 champion Mullin of F&M and two-time champion Lea Candelmo (Oakland, N.J.) of Gettysburg. Urinsus first year Clara Baker (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) is the favorite in the 100 butterfly, but teammates Maggie Leitz (Upper Darby, Pa.) and Katherine Porter (Sayre, Pa.) as well as Gettysburg's Savannah Llewellyn (Plainfield, N.J.) are also contenders. In the 200 free, Capodanno will look to out-touch Washington College's Julia Portmann (Palatine, Ill.) to win her third gold in the event. Gettysburg's Caroline Moyer (Malvern, Pa.) has turned in the top time of the season in the 100 breaststroke, but will have to beat F&M's Mullin and Washington College's Jennifer Clune (Bowie, Md.) to repeat as champion. Ursinus freshman Lyons, who set a conference record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.60, is the favorite to win the event. The Bears are positioned to win gold in the 800 freestyle relay and may even set a new championship meet record along the way.
Sunday
Rebecca Meyers, Franklin & Marshall
In the 1650 free, look for conference record-holder Meyers of F&M to become the program's fifth champion in the event. Dickinson first year Katherine Schmidt (Orono, Minn) is favored to win the 200 backstroke for the Red Devils for the first time since 1996. Schmidt will be challenged by Bryn Mawr's Lillian Oyen-Ustad (Rhinebeck, N.Y) and Gettysburg's Kate Hegwood (Glastonbury, Conn.). In the 100 free, Caitlin Klockner (Acton, Mass.) of Dickinson will have to hold off Ursinus' Sydney Gundersen (Reading, Pa.) and Capodanno for the gold. Gettysburg teammates Sadie Stiles (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and Moyer have the top times in the 200 breaststroke, but F&M's Mullin and defending champ Olivia Tierney (Broomall, Pa.) of Ursinus are also contenders. Expect a photo finish between Ursinus' Leitz and Baker in the race for the 200 fly title. The 2016 championship meet will end with the 400 freestyle relay. The Bears (3:32.05) are seeking their fourth consecutive title in the event, but will be challenged by the Bullets (3:37.70) and Shorewomen (3:38.11).
Video and live results of the championship will be available for all three days of competition. Results will also be posted on Twitter (@CentennialConf) and the conference app, Centennial Conference Front Row.