The University of Mary Washington men’s and women’s swimming program had perhaps the greatest season in school history in 2006-07. The women’s team, led by seven All-Americans, raced to 12th place at the NCAA Championships in March, the highest finish ever by the program. The men won the conference title for the seventh straight year, and had one swimmer gain All-America honors for the third consecutive season.
The squads opened the season at the Division I Potomac Valley Relays, and the men flashed hints of brilliance, as the 3-by-100 breaststroke relay consisting of Dale Parker, Drew Taccone, and Kennard Smith finished first among the competition, with the 4-by-100 individual medley relay finishing second. The women had several second-place finishes, including the 4-by-100 IM relay and the 3-by-100 yard butterfly relay.
The Eagles then opened the dual meet season by falling at Division I William and Mary, one of the most improved teams in the nation. However, the Eagles had several top performances, including a second, third, and fourth place finish in the 50 yard freestyle on the women’s side.
One week later, the Eagles faced Capital Athletic Conference schools Gallaudet University and Salisbury University. UMW easily swept their league opponents to improve to 2-1 on the season. The Eagles then split a dual meet with Washington & Lee University, with the women winning 171-90, and the men falling 172-69. Michelle Sawyer led the women with a pair of first place finishes, while Parker and Jason Philpott each won a race for the men.
UMW then swept Catholic University in a conference dual meet, as Amy Carlson won two individual events and one relay. Philpott and Luke Moss each won twice as well. The Eagles then swam at the highly competitive Division I University of Maryland Invitational. The raised level of competition also raised the teams’ performances, as the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay qualified for the NCAA Championships with a school and conference record time of 1:37.97.
Both Maureen Greenlee and Carlson swam on the relay and qualified provisionally for NCAAs in the 50 freestyle. Carlson capped her weekend by qualifying for nationals in the 100-yard backstroke and setting a new school record, and earning an “a” cut in the 100-yard butterfly, with a time of 56.98. Parker also achieved great success at the meet, as he finished fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke, which broke the school and conference record. For her outstanding efforts at Maryland, Carlson was named CollegeSwimming.com’s National Division III Swimmer of the Week.
Following the team’s annual training trip to Florida, the Eagles swept a dual meet from St. Mary’s College, and then swept traditional rival Gettysburg College on Senior Day. A pair of losses at George Mason preceded a sweep of Marymount University.
The Eagles again dominated at the Capital Athletic Conference Championships: The women won the title for the 17th straight year; the men claimed first for the 13th time. Dale Parker was named the CAC Men’s Swimmer of the Year and freshman Laura Graesser took CAC Women’s Rookie of the Year.
In preparation for the NCAA Championships, several swimmers returned to St. Mary’s College one week later. The women’s 200-yard medley relay shattered the CAC record with a time of 1:48.01. In all, seven women and one man were invited to the NCAA Championships, and all eight earned All- America honors. The Eagle women stood in ninth place after the first day’s events and looked secure for a top-10 finish overall, but a disqualification on the 200 medley relay cost them that standing.
Seniors Maureen Greenlee, Amy Carlson, and Patricia Dilger concluded their brilliant careers with multiple All-America honors. They were supported by All-Americans Lorena de la Garza, Mallory Cruise, Michelle Sawyer, and Kristen LaCoe. Senior Dale Parker finished 12th in the 100-yard breaststroke at NCAAs, capping his outstanding three-year All-America career at UMW.
With a strong group of returnees, an eagerly anticipated recruiting class, and the addition of a new head coach in Matt Sellman, the Eagles are ready to raise the bar even higher in 2007-08.