The women’s team finished third with 357 points, recording the best conference finish in the school’s history.

The men’s team rallied its way into fourth place with 433 points.

Nine school records were broken throughout the swims. Both the men’s 400 medley and 800 freestyle relay teams broke school records resulting in times of 3 minutes, 52.84 seconds and 6:52.76, respectively.

Additionally, the women’s team broke two relay school records. The 200 and 800 freestyle relay records indicated times of 1:35.79 and 7:49.91, respectively.

The women’s 200 freestyle relay placed second, barely being outtouched by Indiana University of Pennsylvania by two-one-hundredths of a second.

The four record-breaking relays all recorded NCAA “B” cuts. All in all, 29 “B” cuts were posted by the Gannon Knights.

Senior Christina Ruggiero said the team competed extremely well during the weekend.

“We swam our hearts out,” she said.

The teams will now await an invitation to the NCAA Division II meet held in Birmingham, Ala., March 6-10.

Several Gannon swimmers showed skill following the meet. Of the 17 Knights who posted top-eight finishes, eight were women, including Michelle Fischl (200 IM and 100 breaststroke), Katie Joseph (200 free, 100 breaststroke, and 100 freestyle), Amanda Knapp (200 IM), Morgan Lydic (100 freestyle), Emily Nottingham (50 freestyle), Madeline Summers, (200 backstroke), Katie Vincent (200 breaststroke) and Kelsey Williams (100 backstroke and 200 backstroke).

The nine men were Logan Bissell (400 IM and 200 breaststroke), Nathan Bean (100 butterfly and 100 freestyle), Ryan Carter (200 freestyle), Ethan Chase (100 butterfly and 200 butterfly) Adam Chrzanowski (200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, and 200 backstroke), Terrance Coughran (1,000 freestyle, 500 freestyle, and 200 freestyle), Michael Decsey (100 backstroke and 200 backstroke), Alex Dovale (200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 butterfly), and Michael Lawrence (1,650 freestyle).

Upon returning to Gannon, Lydic and Chrzanowski received Gannon Student Athlete of the Week awards.

Lydic posted “B” cuts in her two individual events, the 50 and 100 freestyle.  She also was a member of all five of the women’s relays, two of which,  broke school records and posted “B” cuts.

Chrzanowski finished all three of his events with a top-eight placing, posting “B” cut times in all of them. He was also a member of the recordbreaking 400 medley relay and 800 freestyle relay teams. Chrzanowski, like Lydic, was also a member of all five of the men’s relay teams.

Junior Charlene Lichota said the team did extremely well, yet aimed to do better.

“Even though things may not have gone as they would have liked, it was still a great meet,” Lichota said.

ZAK WESTFALL

westfall003@knights.gannon.edu

Coach Nathan Walters said the season has been a good one so far, and hopes the teams’ hard work will pay off in the final meet of the season.

“We’ve worked extremely hard,” he said. “I feel like we’re carrying the strength and speed that we need into the conference meet. It’s been a long progression, but we’re ready to go.”

Although the team hasn’t swum in a meet in nearly three weeks, Walters said the schedule is set up this way for a reason.

“We’re essentially resting,” he said. “We go through a three-week taper period so that we’re primed and ready for this weekend. These three weeks have been necessary to fully get our bodies rested and ready for what they’re going to go through.”

The Knights have counted on a group of talented underclassmen to fill out the lineups this season. Freshmen standouts Michelle Fischl, Katie Joseph, Adam Chrzanowski and Nick Wolhaupter have consistently posted PSAC qualifying times for Gannon. Walters said he thinks that they will continue to perform for Gannon in the conference meet, though they will probably face some nerves as well.

“They understand that youth is important in our sport,” he said. “In the water, they’re individuals. It’s their talents that lead them the entire way. With the meets we’ve had, there’s no question in my mind they’ll be ready for what they need to do.”

The meet, which Walters said will be a close-fought battle for second through sixth places, will be a defining moment of the season, and while he said the Knights have a chance of coming out in second, which has never happened in the history of the program, other teams have the same chance.

“We all have our dual-meet season, but the conference championship is what determines it all,” he said. “It’s a winner take all kind of situation.”

CHRISTINE PEFFER

peffer002@knights.gannon.edu

The Lady Knights swept a pair of Division I programs to reach the 10-win plateau for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

The women swept a twinbill at the Canisius Tri-Meet Saturday afternoon by narrowly defeating host Canisuis College 59-54, before beating Siena University 60-45. Gannon improved to 10-3 overall and are now in the midst of a four-meet winning streak as they prepare for Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play.

“The girls swim team is doing better this year than we have in a long time,” said sophomore Katie Vincent, who led the Knights’ attack, delivering two first-place finishes Saturday. “Our coach is challenging us more in practice and the whole team is working extremely hard.”

Vincent was part of a 200-yard medley relay team that opened up the meet in thrilling fashion. Sophomore Rachel King led off the relay, Vincent and freshman Amanda Knapp comprised the second and third legs, and Senior Kaitlyn Bosy anchored the squad that registered a time of one minute, 53.12 seconds and bettered Canisius by less than one second.

Vincent also took home the 200-yard breaststroke with a pool-record time of two minutes, 28.12 seconds.

Freshman Katie Joseph also contributed to the Knights’ cause by posting a winning time of 54.81 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle.

In addition to the Knights’ success Saturday, Gannon also came back from Mesa, Ariz. with a top-place finishing in the Citrus Classic on Dec. 30.

Meanwhile, the Gannon men dropped their only decision of the day to Canisius, 148-86.

The Gannon men also wrapped up three wins, two of which belonged to freshman Adam Chrzanowski.

Chrzanowski touched the wall first the 500-yard freestyle by registering a time of four minutes, 56.40 seconds, before comprising the third leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay team that took home first with a time of three minutes, 15.07 seconds.

Jared Griffard captured Gannon’s third title with a conference-qualifying time of two minutes, 14.28 seconds in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Head coach Nathan Walters said that all the traveling and competition should be advantageous for the Knights once the conference season begins.

“We’ve logged quite a few miles, and we’ve beaten some good teams, as well as lost to some good teams,” he said. “But both sides of the experience should help us once we start getting into the stretch run.”

The Knights will take part in the Clarion Tri-Meet Saturday, in which they will face off against host Clarion and Edinboro universities.

Walters said now is the time when the teams will really make their marks.

“It’s really back to business now because this is where things really start to get going,” he said.

Vincent said she has already set a goal in her mind.

“Hopefully our success thus far this year is a foreshadowing of a PSAC finish better than our 6th place finish last year.”

JOE CUNEO

cuneo001@knights.gannon.edu

It has produced a 7-3 record on the women’s side, including a 2-0 record at away venues. It has yielded a 4-4 record on the men’s side, with a 3-1 record in home water.

All the Knights’ gains have given coach Nathan Walters a satisfactory feeling, though he said he is careful not to mistake satisfaction for complacency.

“Mid-season invitationals reaffirmed what we’ve been doing,” he said. “I’m pleased with our training and our development.”

However, the most exciting of the results may arguably be the emergence of a new face on the team, freshman phenom Michelle Fischl.

Fischl, a pre-veterinary/biology major from Greensburg, Pa., was no stranger to success while in high school.

A four-year letter winner at Greensburg Salem High School, Fischl swam for coach Dan Beck in high school.

Upon leaving the pool at Greensburg Salem, she dove right off the blocks and into the record books at Gannon University.

While the binding, cover and contents are different, it’s not Fischl’s first plunge into the books.

Fischl set records during her time in Greensburg in the 200-yard IM, the 100-yard backstroke, the 100-yard breaststroke, the 100-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle.

It didn’t take long before she made a splash at the NCAA division II level.

The date was Dec. 3.

The setting was the pool at the College of Wooster.

The event was the Mid-Season Invitational at the College of Wooster, in Wooster, Ohio.

In only the eighth event of the season, Fischl set the Gannon University record for 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:06.38 in the preliminary heat.

That mark wouldn’t stand long.

The record would prove to be short-lived as Fischl’s time was bettered by over a full second in the final heat by the only swimmer who could beat her on Saturday: Michelle Fischl.

Her time in the record-breaking heat was 2:04.91.

Those numbers won her the race, qualified her for the NCAA “B” cut, and earned her a spot on the wall as the fastest Knight to ever swim the 200-yard backstroke in Gannon history.

Also standing out for the women was senior diver Diana Rocco.

Rocco qualified for the NCAA Division II National Diving Championships in the 1-meter event with 393.8 points.

She earned first place in that event as well as the 3-meter dive, in which she posted 413.05 points.

The Knights will host SUNY Fredonia Friday for a 7 p.m. meet.

Walters said that he is eager to see what the rest of the season will holds in store for the Knights.

“We’ve introduced some new strength and training regimens,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

ALEX WOMER

womer003@knights.gannon.edu

(Gannonsports.com) Sophomore Jackie Rzymek (above) swims in Saturday's meet against Division I opponent Canisius College. Rzymek broke her own pool record in the 100-yard butterfly as she was one of four Knights to break records.

The 6-2 Women’s team and 3-3 Men’s squad, which split a dual-meet Saturday against Division I Canisius, travelled to Florida for 10 days from Dec. 29 to Jan. 7 for their annual training trip.

Junior Greg Nelson, who is one of two Knights to hold the record for the 500-yard Freestyle, said that although the team stayed in Fort Lauderdale, the trip was by no means any vacation.

“It was definitely some of the most difficult training sessions we’ve done since I’ve been here,” Nelson said.

The rigorous training was used to help the Knights, who have combined for four first-place finishes, strengthen their aerobic capacity for the upcoming Edinboro Quad-Meet Saturday.

“We swam in 50 meters for long period training,” Nelson said. “It really helps you aerobically and lets you last longer in your races. Compared to a 50 meter pool, our 25 yard pool seems so much shorter when you’re racing in it.”

Although coach Nathan Walters helped the Knights prepare both mentally and physically for the tail end of the schedule, he wasn’t the only one that Gannon received advice from while in Fort Lauderdale.

The Knights were given the opportunity to meet Olympic gold-medalist Dana Torres. Torres, 41 during the 2008 Bejiing Summer Olympics, obtained a spot in her fifth Olympic games and became the first woman in history to swim in the Olympics over the age of 40. 

INSERT LAWTON

“She told us how to prepare for big meets and to be mentally tough,” Nelson said. “She told us stories about swimmers at the Olympics and how they almost threw up or passed out. She was really cool and down-to-earth.”

Aside from the physical and mental benefits of training in Florida and meeting an Olympic medalist, according to Nelson, both teams were able to bond and become a close-knit group of swimmers.

“The trip brought us closer together since we were with each other for 24 hours a day for 10 days,” he said. “It was great to get through that training with everyone’s support.”

After the Edinboro Quad-Meet, the teams have only one more competition, the Indiana (Pa.) Invitational, before the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship and the NCAA Division II Championship.

Nelson said he believes that after seeing how the team has raced since the Florida trip, they will be hard pressed not to improve on last year’s sixth-place finish in the PSAC Championships.

“We’ve been swimming really well,” he said. “This is one of the strongest teams we’ve had. We’re going to be tough. We’re going to do some major damage.”

(Gannonsports.com) Senior swimmer Sarah Lewton (above) posted a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference qualifying time in the 100-yard backstroke during the team's victory over Penn State Behrend.

After rocky starts, the Gannon University men’s and women’s swimming teams have found their sea legs at the midpoint of the season.

Swimming and diving coach Nathan Walters characterized the teams’ sudden hot streak as “timely,” as the women improved to a 4-2 record in dual meets to go along with a win at the Westminster Relay meet. The men carry a 2-2 dual meet record with a pair of first-place finishes to their credit.

Walters said he believes this group has shown enough to reach new heights.

“We have done a nice job of focusing day to day and week to week,” the third-year coach said. “This is the most coachable group of athletes I have had at this program thus far, and even when we lose a bit of focus we have done a nice job of bringing it back quickly, which is something that is necessary in an enduring sport such as this one.”

After the Gannon women had to contend with a brutal beginning to their 2010-11 schedule facing off against four Division I programs at the Cleveland Invitational, the Knights have hit their stride, besting the six-team field at the Westminster Relay meet before claiming a pair of wins over regional foes Allegheny College and Penn State Behrend.

The wins not only gave the Knights some confidence heading forward, but also qualified numerous swimmers for the PSAC championships.

In just the last two dual meets alone, the women have qualified 14 times for the conference championships, while the men have met the requirements 13 times.

Before a close 116-114 loss to Penn State Behrend Nov. 22, the Gannon men had taken first place in each of their previous four competitions.

The most impressive of the Knight’s wins was a dramatic 160-139 victory over D-I Niagara University in the season-opening Cleveland State Invitational on Oct. 15.

With the Knights heading into the final race of the night trailing, the 200-yard freestyle relay team placed second with a time of one minute and 28 seconds to beat Niagara by 0.62 seconds.

Although Gannon’s triumphs may seem sudden to the casual fan, for Coach Walters, they are a long time in the making.

Walters said he has pushed his swimmers to new levels of in preparation in hopes to prime his team for the long haul as well as instill a new mindset.

“These athletes are conditioned very well to handle the long season and thus they are swimming tired,” he said. “With that in mind, their performances have been on par with the difficulty in the training.”

With the Mid-Season Invite this weekend at Wooster, Ohio, the Knights’ mettle will once again be tested and Walters said he will be watching closely.

“This weekend will be a very accurate assessment of what we need for the second half of the year as well as a progression measure of the first half,” he said. “I’m excited for them.”

JOE CUNEO

cuneo001@gannon.edu