MARY WASHINGTON COLLEGE SWIMMING
Traditionally two of the top programs among the highly successful athletic department at Mary Washington College, the 2002-03 men's and swimming teams will again be striving for greatness. The men's team returns a solid group after claiming the CAC Championship with the largest margin of victory in the history of the conference a year ago. The women will look to return to the form that has produced twelve consecutive CAC Championships and top twenty-five team rankings at the NCAA Championships.
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 seven years, the Eagles have broken nearly every school and conference record several times over. This is the direct result of hard work and season-long dedication to the training program.
The men's squad will feature a strong returning group, led by two-time All-American Justin Snyder and all-conference performers Kent Swats, Brent Kintzer, Tim Morrell, Scott Baker, Matt McLaren, Steve Couglin, Sean Donohue, Joey Hess, and Bryan Beary. The Eagles had an outstanding 8- 2 dual meet record in 2001-02, finished in fourth place in the prestigious Franklin & Marshall Invitational, and won its eighth Capital Athletic Conference title in the twelve-year history of the conference. MWC also topped CAC foes Catholic, Salisbury, York, Goucher, Marymount, and St. Mary's, and also defeated Division One VMI for the second straight year, and state foe Washington & Lee University. Snyder, the CAC Swimmer of the Year, had another outstanding season as a sophomore, capping the year with a fifth-place finish in the 100 butterfly at the NCAA Championships. Freshman Tim Morrell was named the CAC Rookie of the Year and Kinney was tabbed as the league’s Coach of the Year, as MWC swept the postseason awards.
Another strong recruiting class will complement the excellent group of returnees, giving the Eagles an excellent shot of scoring yet another conference championship, and sending multiple swimmers to the NCAA Championships.
The Eagle women claimed their twelfth conference championship in 2002, reigning as the only school in the conference to ever claim the conference championship. Coming off back-to-back seasons in which they sent multiple relays to nationals, the 2002 edition had one swimmer, senior Amanda Kohne advance to the national championships, and swim in three events.
The women finished with an 8-3 record and won the Franklin & Marshall College Invitational for just the second time ever. ln addition to wins over CAC schools, MWC defeated Division One Radford University and foe Washington & Lee University. With the loss of three seniors, including Kohne, the Eagles return a large number of strong contributors, including CAC Swimmer of the Year Karin Riesenfeld. Also back are all conference swimmers Susie Duke, Lisa Marie Carlson, Kacie Wamsley, Lauren Schmidt, Jen Graboyes, Emily Perkins, Beth Wagner, Ashley McCoy, and Jessica Bielecki. This group will lead the Eagles in 2002-03, and hopefully get MWC back to the NCAA Championships in large numbers this winter.
This season will feature another exciting schedule, with opponents like Howard University; Gettysburg College, and Johns Hopkins University in addition to the Potomac Valley Relays at American University, the Franklin & Marshall Invitational, and the CAC Championships, held annually at MWC. The Eagles will also cake their annual week-long Florida trip in early January to kick off the spring training season.
Mary Washington has won twenty of the combined twenty-four CAC championships since the advent of the conference back in 1991. Mary Washington has claimed the prestigious CAC All-Sports Award, given to the top all-around athletic program in the conference, eight times, including in 2001-02, when the Eagles won ten of the conference's eighteen sports. This award is evidence that MWC's philosophy of carrying a broad-based program with equality for all teams has been an unqualified success.