32nd Annual PSAC Women's Swimming Championships Preview
Feb. 21, 2007
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. - The 32nd annual Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Women’s Swimming Championships are set to begin on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007 and for the first time in the event’s history, it will be held away from a PSAC school campus and at the Cumberland Valley High School Natatorium in Mechanicsburg.
Action will begin with the men’s and women’s 1,000-yard freestyle at 6:30 p.m., on Thursday evening. From Friday through Sunday, preliminaries start at 10:00 a.m. and the finals begin at 6:00 p.m.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at the door. An all-session pass for adults is $35, while preliminary passes are $5 and finals passes are $7. All students with a PSAC school ID will be admitted free of charge. Tickets for all other students are $2 for individual sessions or $10 for an all-session pass.
This year’s women’s championship features 35 swimmers that have posted NCAA qualifying times in 2007, 12 returning All-PSAC performers and four returning champions.
That Clarion and West Chester each boast three returning all-conference performers should be no surprise. The two programs have dominated the PSAC Swimming Championships since its start in 1976.
Clarion won 23-straight titles until Indiana (Pa.) broke the run and won its lone championship in 1999. Clarion bounced back with their 24th win in 2000, but West Chester captured three in a row from 2001-03. While Clarion has won two of the last three titles, West Chester has won four of the last six and most recently, in 2005.
Last year, Clarion earned its 26th championship, edging West Chester 928.5 to 890.5. Indiana (Pa.) placed third with 578 points, Bloomsburg earned fourth with a score of 489 and Shippensburg took fifth with 417.5 points.
Much of the same should be expected in 2007 with West Chester and Clarion dueling for the title once again. West Chester enters the championships with an 8-2 dual meet record including a 214-156 win over Clarion. Clarion, meanwhile, has an 8-5 mark with four of the losses coming against Division I opponents.
Also vying to knock off the perennial powers is Shippensburg, which qualified 16 swimmers. Indiana (Pa.) (15 swimmers) and Bloomsburg (13 swimmers) should also be in the mix. Other schools competiting include California (Pa.), East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville and Slippery Rock.
Some of the top individual swimmers to watch for include West Chester senior Kathrin Dumitru, who won four NCAA titles last year in the 100 breast, 200 breast, 100 fly and 200 fly. She also earned first place finishes in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events at the conference championships last season and owns the PSAC and meet records in those events.
Dmitru is also the top-seeded swimmer in the 200-yard individual medley.
West Chester’s Kori Kilfeather is a defending champ in the 100-yard butterfly and is seeded second behind Shippensburg sophomore Mandi Foltz.
Bloomsburg’s Ashley Yelinek won the 1,650-yard freestyle in 2006 and is seeded in the top five in three events.
Sophomore Katie Brosseau of West Chester is the top-seeded swimmer in the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle races and in the 400-yard individual medley. She has posted NCAA qualifying times all three events, as well. Her time of 10:22.86 in the 1,000 is nearly 26 seconds faster than the NCAA “B” cut standard.
Bloomsburg junior Dianna Smith returns to defend her first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. She is the top-seeded swimmer, and her time if 1:53.90 is an NCAA “A” cut time. She is also seeded third in the 100-yard freestyle and fifth in the 50-yard freestyle with two NCAA “B” qualifying times.
Junior Brooke Heath of Edinboro grabbed three runner-up finishes in 2006 and has posted three NCAA “A” qualifying times already this season. She is seeded first in the 200 breaststroke, second in the 100 breaststroke and second in the 200 IM.
Most of the relay events promise to be competitive, as well. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Clarion is the favorite after posting an NCAA qualifying time of 1:36.96. West Chester (1:37.28) and Shippensburg (1:37.28) are not far behind.
The 400-yard medley relay is also up for grabs. While West Chester is seeded first with a time of 3:55.35, Clarion (3:56.24) and Shippensburg (3:56.31) have also turned in NCAA qualifying times. Shippensburg set a new school record with their performance earlier this season.
While West Chester’s 200-yard medley relay squad set a meet record and took first place last season (1:47.05), Indiana (Pa.) comes in as the top-seeded team with a time of 1:30.15.
It will be a three-team race for first place in the 400-yard freestyle with Clarion (3:33.16), Bloomsburg (3:33.74), and West Chester (3:33.84) competing for first.
- PSAC Men's Swimming -
