University of Richmond Athletics
Women's Swimming And Diving Returns To The Water
10/28/2003 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Oct. 28, 2003
Oct. 28, 2003
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va.--The University of Richmond women's swimming and diving team will open the season and return to the water, tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 29th at 4 p.m. at Virginia Tech. After claiming two consecutive Atlantic 10 titles, the Spiders are picked to finish first in the conference this season, as well.
Richmond will compete against a heavy schedule on the road throughout majority of its season. Road meets include Virginia Tech, Rutgers on Nov. 14th followed by Pennsylvania on the 15th, Maryland on Nov. 22nd, Davidson and Clemson on Jan. 10th, and North Carolina State on Jan. 18th. Home meets include Georgia Southern on Nov. 1st, Columbia on Jan. 17th, Wagner and Wingate on Jan. 23rd, and George Washington the 28th. The Spiders will travel to Buffalo, N.Y to wrap up the season in the Atlantic 10 Championship meet on Feb. 21st.
OUTLOOK
After capturing a second consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship in 2003 and rewriting both the program and conference record books, the University of Richmond swimming and diving team is eager to return to the water. Under the direction of third-year head coach Matt Kredich, the Spiders are looking to defend their title and advance to the national scene.
"Believe it or not, I feel that we are a much stronger team this year," Kredich commented. "Our returning athletes trained extremely hard during the off-season and we added a very talented freshman class. Combining these two factors, I think that we will again stand out in the Atlantic 10 conference."
At last season's Atlantic 10 Championships, the Spiders won 13 of 20 events and broke eight conference records to finish over 200 points ahead of second place. Richmond swept the three major awards as sophomore Mary Adams was named Performer of the Year, freshman Brooke Boncher earned Most Outstanding Rookie Performer and Kredich received his second Coach of the Year honor. In addition, six other Spiders were honored to the All-Atlantic 10 team.
With their sights set on a third conference title, the Spiders have also set another goal for themselves - making an impact on the national swimming scene. Last year, Mary Adams, Brooke Boncher and Elizabeth Cook became the first student-athletes to represent Richmond at the U.S. Nationals but the Spiders want to compete in the NCAA Championships this season.
The Spiders' schedule, which includes four home dates, is the most demanding in recent history.
"Our schedule is difficult but it is designed to get our entire team accustomed to a high level of competition and prepare us for the Atlantic 10 Championships. We also want our top swimmers to be looking at the national scene and we will be using these meets to help them achieve these goals."
FREESTYLE The Spiders' sprint freestyle events will continue to be strong following last year's success. Sophomore Brooke Boncher will be a marquis performer in the sprints after capturing the conference titles and setting school records in both the 50 and 100. After battling illness for a majority of last season, senior captain Maureen Sabri returns to the Richmond line-up healthy. In addition, freshman Emily Bateman and senior Casey Dluhos will contend for the top spots in the conference.
Richmond's distance freestyle will be strengthened this season with the addition of four freshmen, Holly Hinds, Caitlin Geary, Kara Swift and Megan Riley, who all come from exceptionally strong club swimming backgrounds.
BACKSTROKE
The Spiders will be looking to fill the void left by the graduation of All-Atlantic 10 performer and 200 backstroke school record holder Elizabeth Cook. Senior Laura Thomas, who finished second in the 200 at the conference championships and is the Spiders all time number 2 performer in that event, returns in great shape and will contend for the championship in that event as well as the 100. Freshman Michelle Coombs will give the Spiders added speed in the 100-yard and should threaten current school records in both distances.
BREASTSTROKE Richmond returns two record holders in senior Mary Adams (200 breaststroke). DeRuosi, an All-Conference selection, won the 100 at the championships and finished second in the 200 behind teammate Adams. Adams competed at U.S. Nationals in the 200-meter event after capturing the title at the A-10's. Juniors Leslie Moatz, who advanced to the finals of the 100 at the conference championships, and Erin Cutitta will both be factors for the Spiders. Freshman Alicia Crossman adds additional depth for Richmond.
BUTTERFLY
Kredich will look to sophomores Brooke Boncher to continue their winning ways in the butterfly. Boncher qualified for the 2003 Olympic Selection Meet with her 19th place finish (1:02.23) at the 2003 Spring U.S. Nationals. In her rookie season, Kirchner set a school record in the 200 butterfly. Freshmen Kara Swift and Erica Moschner are all strong in the butterfly and add power to the Spiders' arsenal.
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY Adams, who broke her own conference records in the 200 and 400-yard events last season, returns with a good chance of qualifying for the NCAA Championships in both races. With the addition of freshmen Geary, Hinds, Riley and Swift, the 400 IM could be Richmond's strongest event.
RELAYS
There will be tough competition for a spot on the Spiders' relay teams with the talent on the squad. Kredich believes that this year's relays will all be significantly faster than last year's and both Adams and Boncher will be key to Richmond's success.
DIVING Sophomore Laura MacHaffie was a finalist in both 1M and 3M at the conference championships in her rookie season and will be a threat to take it all this year. Kredich expects freshman Maggie Miranda to also compete for the spots in the top eight of both events at the A-10 Championships in February.
