ARLINGTON, Va.—The Marymount (Va.) University men and women's swimming teams enter the 2015-16 season hoping to improve their overall performance from last year's Capital Athletic Conference Championship.
Head Coach Mike Clark added seven incoming swimmers for the women's team and four for the men. The incoming swimmers are looking to make an impact with a strong returning class to improve the team's performances at the CAC Championship.
Men's Team
The men's team brings back several top performers from the previous season led by juniors Tyler Hayes and William Bryan. Hayes finished in the top three in the 50-yard freestyle, and in the top 10 for the 100-yard freestyle at last year's CAC Championship. Bryan finished fourth individually in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and second in the 200-yard freestyle relay and third in the 400-yard medley relay.
Sophomore Ross Wiley will look to make an impact in the backstroke races, while junior Robert Klazynski will also benefit the team in several team relay races. Bryan, Hayes and Klazynski all earned All-CAC accolades at least year's CAC Championship.
Marymount has four new additions to the team with incoming freshmen James Augustino, Ian Griffith, Isaiah Jones, and Jonathon Mobley.
"They all have the potential to be excellent swimmers. There is a lot of raw talent to work with," Clark said. "Ian has already recorded faster times then our current records in the 200-yard butterfly and should make an immediate impact in that event."
"We are looking to finish in the top three in the conference and score more points than last year in the CAC championship," Clark said. The squad has set several goals as a team and individually and are excited to compete and meet those expectations.
Women's Team
The women had an impressive second-place finish at the CAC Championship last year and are looking to improve upon that. Returners Morgan Alston, Taylor Hood, Hanna Del Signore,Jessica Hester, Marisol Rivera, Kassidy Schmidt, Alison McDermott, and Kristen Kilroy are all looking to lead the team. These returners were all scoring contributors for Marymount at last year's championship, while Schmidt and Kilroy also earned All-CAC accolades.
The Saints look to add seven incoming freshman to the squad. Freshman Katrina David, who hails from Velbert, Germany, is looking to make a huge impact for the team. With the addition of David and six other swimmers, Coach Clark is hoping to close the gap with the University of Mary Washington in the CAC Championship.
"We have a great set of returners and many incoming freshman who should be able to score some points for us at the CAC Championship," Clark said. "We have a great group of swimmers who work hard, get along and will do well this year."
Schedule
The Saints open their season at CAC opponent St. Mary's College of Maryland to compete against St. Mary's College and Goucher College in a tri-meet. The event takes place on Saturday, October 31, and is set to start at 1 p.m.
Marymount will continue on the road at Mary Washington for another CAC match up on Saturday, November 7. The squads will continue on the road before hosting Gallaudet University on Friday, November 20 for their home opener.
The Saints will host one more home event on Saturday, November 23 against York College of Pennsylvania.
The CAC Championship will be held at St. Mary's on Friday, February 19 through the weekend, with the closing day on Sunday.
"The schedule this year is pretty typical," Clark said. "We look to learn and improve from the dual and tri-meets to prepare for the CAC Championship and hopefully have some success".
