LANCASTER, Pa. – Six-time defending champion Ursinus was selected as the favorite to once again repeat in the 2019 Centennial Conference Women's Swimming Preseason Poll. The Bears nabbed six first-place votes and totaled 48 points to earn top billing in the vote among the conference head coaches. 

Swarthmore placed second in the voting with 44 points and the remaining two first-place nods. Gettysburg was picked to finish third with 37 points, followed by Franklin & Marshall (29), Dickinson (25), Washington College (21), McDaniel (11), and Bryn Mawr (9) in fourth through eighth, respectively. 

The 2019-20 season begins Saturday, Oct. 19 for a trio of Centennial teams, with all eight teams set to open their schedules by Oct. 26. The Centennial Conference Championship is slated for Feb. 20-23 at Gettysburg, while the NCAA Championships will take place from March 18-21 in Greensboro, N.C. 

2019-20 Schedule | 2019 Championship Results | 2018-19 All-Centennial Team | Record Book

After running away with its sixth consecutive Centennial Conference Championship last winter, Ursinus returns six all-conference performers and four swimmers who competed in the NCAA Championships last season, including reigning Most Outstanding Performer and Rookie Outstanding Performer at last year's championship meet, Sophie Lear. 2018 CC Rookie Outstanding Performer Sophie May is also back, along with fellow NCAA qualifiers Haley Sturla and Katie Schultz. 

A total of 19 all-conference swimmers from last winter return to the pool this year, including seven from Swarthmore, six from Ursinus, five from Gettysburg and one from McDaniel. 

2019-20 Centennial Conference Women's Swimming Preseason Poll