EVENT: Wagner at Mount St. Mary's
WHEN: Sat, Oct. 22, 2010, 12 p.m.
WHERE: Mount St. Mary's Swimming Pool, Emmitsburg, Md.
opening dive... Saturday's meet between Mount St. Mary's and Wagner marks the sixth meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2006-07 season. The Seahawks have won the previous five meetings in the series.
last time against the seahawks... Wagner defeated Mount St. Mary's 129-74 in Northeast Conference women's swimming action on Jan. 29, 2011. Cat Coppler and Mollie Walsh each finished with a first and a second on the evening. Coppler won the 100 fly (1:00.43) and placed second in the 1650 free (18:06.76) while Walsh finished first in the 50 free (25.16) and second in the 100 back (1:04.53). The duo also swam the middle two legs of the winning 200-free relay (1:42.04) with Patricia Yam starting the relay and Courtney Griffith bringing home the victory in the fourth leg of the event. Griffith also finished second in the 200 free (1:58.06) and in the 100 free (54.47), and Yam placed third in the 200 IM (2:20.43) and third in the 100 fly (1:02.41). Alyssa Cummin recorded a third-place standing in the 100 back (1:12.22) while Murphy Alafoginis was third in the 500 free (5:55.66). Joanna Hale, Molly Kristiniak, Cummin and Jessica Gardner finished third in the 200-medley relay (2:08.77) while Victoria Shaw, Cummin, Alafoginis and Nicole Helmick ended the 200-free relay (1:55.06) in third place.
last time out… Saint Francis (Pa.) defeated Mount St. Mary's 168-91 in women's swimming action on Monday. Freshman Erin Regan paced the Mount with a first and two second-place finishes. The freshman earned the Mountaineers first win of the day in the 200 fly (2:28.40) and registered second-place standings in the 800 free (9:40.73) and the 100 fly (1:08.01). Sophomore Cat Coppler posted a first in the 50 free (28.60), a second in the 200 free (2:13.54) and a third in the 400 free (4:48.89). Fellow sophomore Patricia Yam notched the other victory on the afternoon in the 200 IM (2:37.19) while also placing third in the 200 back (2:33.40). Freshman Anne Thelan recorded a pair of third-place finishes in the 100 breast (1:22.67) and the 100 free (1:03.67). Freshman Amanda Malmstrom placed third in the 200 IM (2:44.96). Coppler, Mollie Walsh, Regan and Thelan teamed up to win the 200-free (1:53.52) while Walsh, Thelan, Yam and Malstrom placed third in the 400-medley relay (4:48.91).
next time in the water... Starting with the home meet against Saint Francis (Pa.), the Mount will be at home for four-straight meets. After the Red Flash, Wagner comes to town on Saturday before the Mountaineers host Manhattan and NJIT on Oct. 28-29 while VMI joins the competition on Oct. 28 and McDaniel on Oct. 29.
on mountathletics.tv… The Mount St. Mary's University athletic department has announced the addition of women's swimming to its www.MountAthletics.tv streaming schedule. The Mount will add four women's swimming home dates to its streaming schedule. The first broadcast on MountAthletics.tv will be the squad's home opener against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Monday at 5 p.m. Wagner (Oct. 22), the quad meet with Manhattan, NJIT and McDaniel (Oct. 29) and Loyola (Feb. 4) will also be available. Single meet subscriptions for all live events will be available throughout the season for $6.95.
home pool advantage in 2011-12... Mount St. Mary's will host five days of competition this season. The Mount opened the home slate against Saint Francis (Pa.) (L, 91-168) on Oct. 17 before hosting Wagner on Oct. 22. The squad will then host Manhattan and NJIT on Oct. 28-29 while VMI will participate in the competition on Oct. 28 and McDaniel will compete on Oct. 29. The squad concludes its home schedule against Loyola on Feb. 4. The Mount holds a 13-6 mark at home, including a 6-0 record in 2010-11, 4-1 record in 2008-09 and a 3-1 standing in 2007-08.
preseason poll… The Mount St. Mary's women's swimming team has been picked fifth in the Northeast Conference (NEC) women's swimming preseason coaches poll. Two-time defending champion Saint Francis (Pa.) picked up four of the seven first-place votes to be tabbed as the preseason favorite. Central Connecticut State garnered two first-place nods to finish second while Bryant nabbed the final first-place vote to place third in the poll. Wagner, Mount St. Mary's, Sacred Heart and St. Francis (N.Y.) rounded out the seven-team field.
bowling for swimmers… The Mount St. Mary's women's swimming team went bowling in Waynesboro, Pa., on Oct. 11 for a team building exercise. Check out the video here.
about the team... Head coach Neil Yost's 2010-11 team is comprised of one graduate student (Murphy Alafoginis), two seniors (Molly Kristiniak and Chelsea Marrocco), one junior (Courtney Griffith) and eight sophomores (Cat Coppler, Emily Dargay, Megan Ebert, Jessica Gardner, Nicole Helmick, Victoria Shaw, Mollie Walsh and Patricia Yam) and four freshmen (Rebecca Kasda, Amanda Malmstrom, Erin Regan, Anne Thelen).
record-setting season… Junior Courtney Griffith became the first player in program history to earn a spot on the All-Northeast Conference team after finishing second in the 100 fly (56.06) in 2011. Sophomore Patricia Yam became the second player in program history to earn All-NEC honors after placing third in the 200 fly (2:07.42). Griffith and sophomore Cat Coppler became the first Northeast Conference Swimmers of the Week after earning the honor for the first week of the 2010-11 season and then Griffith took home the honor again for the week of Nov. 9-15. As a team, the 253 points at the NEC Swimming & Diving Championships were the most in team history.
local product... Junior Courtney Griffith hails from Westminster, Md. A graduate of Westminster High School, the sophomore was a member of the Eagles Club at McDonough High School for four years. The junior became the first player in program history to earn an All-Northeast Conference selection after finishing second in the 100 fly (56.06) in 2011. She also placed fourth in the 50 free (24.07) and seventh in the 100 free (52.59) last year.
new to the mountain... Head coach Neil Yost has added five newcomers to his 2011-12 roster. Sophomore Megan Ebert and freshmen Rebecca Kasda, Amanda Malmstrom, Erin Regan, Anne Thelen join the team this season.
about the coach... Neil Yost, who enters his seventh season, became the first head coach in program history. Yost came to the Mount with nine years of coaching experience. Since 2002, Yost was the men's and women's swimming coach at Waynesboro High School. He also served as the head swimming coach and aquatics director at the Waynesboro Area YMCA. Before coaching at Waynesboro High School he was the aquatics director at the Westport/Weston YMCA from 2001-02. He was also the assistant swimming coach at Bloomsburg University and the head coach at the Central Columbia Aquatics Club for two years after serving as an assistant coach for two years. Yost started his coaching career as an assistant coach at the Central Columbia Aquatics High School from 1996-2000.
