2006-07 Women's Swimming Preview

BLOOMSBURG- Coming off a strong 2005-06 campaign, in which the Huskies finished fourth at the PSAC Championships, the Bloomsburg University Women's Swim team is optimistic that the 2006-07 season will be even stronger. The Huskies will begin the season on Saturday, October 21 at 1 p.m. when they host the Bloomsburg Relays.

"Last year we finished fourth at the PSAC Championships", said head coach Dave Rider. "We'd like to be at least third this season." In order to do that, the Huskies will need to find swimmers who can replace the graduating seniors who scored points at the conference championships last season. "If everyone improves from last year, then we should be able to replace those points," added Rider.

The Huskies will be strongest in freestyle events this season due to the return of junior sprint freestyle swimmer Dianna Smith (West Grove/ Avon Grove) and senior distance freestyle swimmer Ashley Yelinek (Youngwood/ Southmoreland).

Smith, a 2006 Honorable-Mention All-American, finished 11th in the 100-free and 13th in the 200-free at the NCAA Championships last season. At the PSAC Championships, Smith captured the 200-free championship and finished third in the 100-free.

Yelinek is the returning PSAC champion in the 1650-freestyle. She also finished second in the 1000-free at the conference championships and narrowly missed qualifying for nationals in both events. Rider is confident she can qualify for nationals this season.

However, the Huskies will need to improve in the butterfly events. The Huskies have not been strong in butterfly in the past and Rider is hoping that one of the new swimmers will step up and fill the void.

In order for the Huskies to improve they will also need big contributions from the senior class. "The whole senior class needs to step up", said Rider. "It's their turn to be the leaders. In the past, we've been successful because we've had good seniors to lead the way."

This year's senior class includes, Stephanie Boccuti (Doylestown/ Central Bucks East) , Courtney Dean (Lancaster/ Hempfield), Laura Jeffers (Spring/ Perkiomen Valley) , Lauren Sterkenberg (Lancaster/ Hempfield), Sara Lengler (Harrisburg/ Central Dauphin East) and Yelinek. Other key returning swimmers will be junior Jackie Gribbin (Richboro/ Council Rock North) and sophomores, Barb Caccia (Laurel Springs/ Sterling), Allie Reed (Special Education/ Selinsgrove), and Sara Hippeli (Quakertown/ Quakertown). Each of these swimmers qualified for the PSAC Championships last season.

In addition to the seniors, the Huskies have a number of incoming freshmen who could have an immediate impact on the team. The freshman class includes Kelly Ayres (Gilbertsville/ Boyertown), Ashley Carroll (Mohnton/ Schuylkill Valley), Ashley Carsia (Sugarloaf/ Hazleton Area), Laura Punda (Camp Hill/ Cumberland Valley), Jessica Stusnick (Huntingdon Valley/ Lower Moreland), and Amy Usciak (Lancaster/ Hempfield).

Last season, the Huskies sent 15 swimmers to the conference championships. This year, Rider feels the Huskies have at least 18 swimmers capable of qualifying for the conference championships. That should make the Huskies a strong contender at the conference championships this season with a chance of achieving its goal of a third place finish.