Women's Swimming Championship Preview

Posted: Feb 19, 2020

The 27th annual Centennial Conference women's swimming championship begins Thursday at Gettysburg College. The event will open with the 200 medley relay and 800 freestyle relay on Thursday night. Action will continue through Sunday, with prelims set for 10 a.m. each morning and finals beginning at 6 p.m. inside Bullets Pool.

Swarthmore enters this week's championship event as the favorite to hoist the CC trophy. The Garnet, ranked 21st nationally in the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) poll, cruised to an unbeaten record in Centennial duals and will vie for their first conference title since 2002 and third overall (also won in 2001).

Host Gettysburg, Franklin & Marshall and Dickinson will look to contend with Swarthmore for the top spot in the standings following solid regular seasons. The Bullets went 5-1 in CC dual meets and are received votes in the CSCAA rankings earlier this year. The Diplomats (4-2 CC) and Red Devils (3-3 CC) swam to the closest dual score in the conference this year, with F&M pulling out a 137-125 triumph on Feb. 1.

Gettysburg's Katie Cooper is the lone returning individual champion in the field. The sophomore won the 200 breaststroke at last year's championship.

500 Freestyle (CC/Meet record: 4:54.50)
Swarthmore's Anna Lyn (5:08.38) and Gettysburg's Megan Wojnar (5:08.59) enter as the top two seeds in this event, with Swarthmore's Hannah Kloetzer (5:09.15) as another name to watch.

200 Individual Medley (CC/Meet: 2:05.94)
F&M's Tara Kupsky (2:10.45) is the clear favorite in the 200 IM, boasting a time nearly three seconds fastest than the rest of the field. Gettysburg's Kaitlin Idank (2:13.14), Dickinson's Madeline Vlattas (2:13.15), Swarthmore's Sophia Lee (2:13.58), F&M's Amelia Bothwell (2:13.62) and Swarthmore's Selina Ye (2:13.64) will all look to contend for medals.

50 Freestyle (CC/Meet: 23.45)
Gettysburg's Kate Crilly (23.93) holds the top time this season in the sprint freestyle, with F&M's Julie McFadden (24.18) and Julia Pavlov (24.27) also looking to challenge for the top spot on the podium.

400 Individual Medley (CC/Meet: 4:31.20)
Wojnar (4:33.79) of Gettysburg is the favorite by nearly four seconds in this event, while F&M's Kupsky (4:37.56) will look to contend for gold.

100 Butterfly (CC/Meet: 54.58)
Swarthmore's Liz Gallagher (58.35) holds the conference's top time by over half a second, followed closely by Gettysburg's Elissa Clancy (58.88) and Hannah Wasson (58.94). F&M's Leah Williamson (59.10) and Dickinson's Molly Sternick (59.40) are also threats to medal.

200 Freestyle (CC: 1:50.75, Meet: 1:51.48)
Swarthmore's Lyn (1:56.01) enters as the top seed in another freestyle event, with potential challengers including Gettysburg's Crilly (1:56.50) and F&M's Kathy Hirsch (1:57.97).

100 Breaststroke (CC/Meet: 1:04.68)
In what may prove to be one of the closest events of the weekend, Swarthmore's Annabella Boardman (1:06.13), Gettysburg's Cooper (1:06.37) and Swarthmore's Gaby Ma (1:06.37) will duel it out for gold. Gettysburg's Talia Moss (1:07.74) will also vie for the medal stand.

100 Backstroke (CC/Meet: 56.28)
Dickinson's Sarah Caron (57.32) owns the conference's top time, with Gettysburg's Wasson (57.91) close behind. F&M's McFadden (59.18), Swarthmore's Anna Kottakis (59.53) and McDaniel's Sara Hegna (59.83) have also broken the 1-minute mark this year and will contend for spots on the podium.

1650 Freestyle (CC/Meet: 16:43.06)
Gettysburg's Lauren Manning (10:45.31), Swarthmore's Kloetzer (10:48.62), Gettysburg's Wojnar (10:54.18) and Gettysburg's Katherine Sears (10:57.11) have each posted sub-11-minute 1,000 freestyle times this winter.

200 Backstroke (CC: 2:00.85, Meet: 2:02.18)
Gettysburg's Wojnar (2:06.04) is once again an event favorite by more than two seconds, but a pair of Dickinson freshmen - Caron (2:08.40) and Caroline Christianson (2:08.78) are also gold-medal contenders.

100 Freestyle (CC: 50.97, Meet: 51.72)
F&M's McFadden (52.97) has posted the top time this season, with Gettysburg's Cate Kosko (53.32 and Crilly (53.35) along with Swarthmore's Lyn (53.81) and Saya Vaules (53.91) also lurking as medal-stand contenders.

200 Breaststroke (CC/Meet: 2:21.71)
This event features the lone defending champion in the field in Gettysburg's Cooper (2:25.12), who holds the top time by over two seconds. Swarthmore's Boardman (2:27.64) and Ma (2:27.85), and Gettysburg's Moss (2:28.68) aim to challenge the returning gold medalist.

200 Butterfly (CC: 2:01.63, Meet: 2:03.12)
F&M's Kupsky (2:09.47) is the favorite as the lone swimmer to break 2:10 this season. Dickinson's Demetria Ruhl (2:10.64) and Gettysburg's Clancy (2:11.04) will vie for podium positions.