Traditionally one of the top programs at the highly successful athletic department at Mary Washington College, the 2000-2001 men's and women's swimming teams will again be striving for great­ ness. The men, whose roster will return to the strength and depth that has captured six Capital Athletic Conference championships in the decade of the 1990s, will look to again claim the CAC title and send athletes to the national Division III championships after a two-year layoff. The women’s squad is working toward a top-ten finish at nationals after a top-15 placing a year ago, with a best-ever seven swimmers advancing to the championships after claiming an unprecedented tenth conference title.

Success has traditionally been the standard for MWC swimming. A strong recruiting effort continues to bolster and strengthen the program, as does a highly competitive schedule and strong practice work ethic. These factors working together, along with MWC's strong tradition of improving performance throughout the season, give MWC swimmers a competitive edge. In Coach Kinney's five years, the Eagles have broken nearly every school and conference record. Last year's teams alone broke seven school marks en route to twenty-one All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. This is the direct result of hard work and season-long dedication to the training program.

This season's men's team will have a decidedly different look than last year's, as the Eagles welcome one of the largest and most talented recruiting classes in recent memory. The group will be a meet-tested group, however, in that just two seniors were lost to graduation, freestyler Barak Carter and breaststroker Ben Preston. Heading the list of returnees are rising sophomores Steve Coughlin (who won the 200 backstroke at the CAC Championships), Brian Beary, Jon Tellekamp, Matt Lemieux and Joey Hess; junior Andre Lapar, and seniors Cody Camblin, Jon Likowski, Mike Salpeter, Tim Riley, Eric Richko, Ethan Bedell and Sean Young. That group will be joined by one of the largest recruiting classes in Coach Kinney's tenure in Fredericksburg, which may be enough to get the Eagles back to the top of the CAC and produce national championship qualifiers.

This year's women's team win look to continue its ascent to the top of NCAA Division III. Led by five swimmers that represented MWC with twelve All-America honors a year ago, the Eagle women will also be the benefactors of a very strong recruiting class. Junior Amanda Kohne heads the returning All-Americas. She was a member of three of the Eagles' top-16 finishers last Spring. Sophomores Karin Riesenfeld, Leslie Morgan, Lisa-Marie Carlson, and Ashley McCoy also return, giving MWC a strong presence in the pool, despite the loss of combined 19-time All-Americas Kim Myers and Mariah Butler, the two most decorated swimmers in MWC school history. Also lost to graduation are top performers Liz Keaney, Jill Kwasney, Lindsay Lloyd, and Kelli Schaeffer.

Riesenfeld emerged as last year's Capital Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, after setting a CAC record in winning the 200 breaststroke at the conference championships, finishing second in the 200 IM, and qualifying for NCAA's with a conference record-in the 100 breaststroke during time trials.

Morgan, Carlson, and McCoy also bring All-America relay credentials to a team that also features top returnees like senior Jen Maher; juniors Whitney Raven, Jen Wilson and Emily Williams; and sophomores Jen Graboyes, Allie Krebs, Melissa Margolies, Meghan Newcomer; and Ashley Randlett. In all, the Eagle women welcome back six individual All-CAC performers, as well as swimmers that helped win every relay at the conference meet. This winter will again feature an exciting schedule, with opponents like Virginia Military Institute, Johns Hopkins University and Gettysburg College. These top competitions, in addition to the multiple-day events at Franklin and Marshall and the Capital Athletic Conference Championships, allow MWC swimmers to prepare for events such as nationals. The team also takes a week-long training trip to Florida, which kicks off the Spring training season.

Mary Washington has won sixteen of the combined twenty CAC titles since the start of the conference in 1991. The conference is comprised of MWC, Catholic University, Gallaudet University, Goucher College, Marymount University, St. Mary's College of MD, Salisbury State University, and York College of PA. In the seven years that, the conference has presented an all-sports award, Mary Washington has claimed the top place among CAC schools, proving the importance of broad-based success at the school.