Hanson, Levendoski Win Titles, Bison Women Still in Second at PL Championships

Friday, February 20

Lewisburg, Pa.

6:00 PM

Bucknell University

Patriot League Championships Finals

Hanson, Levendoski Win Titles, Bison Women Still in Second at PL Championships

2/20/2015 10:17:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

By: TBD

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Emma Levendoski won the 100 back for the third straight year and Diana Hanson captured her first career title in the 100 breast to lead the Bucknell women's swimming and diving team Friday at the Patriot League Championships at Kinney Natatorium. The Bison remain in second place behind Navy with just one day left in the four-day meet.

Levendoski swept the 100 and 200 back as both a freshman and a sophomore and she is halfway to that goal as a junior thanks to her win in the 100 back on Friday. She won the prelim in a meet-record 53.74 seconds and then finished 1.99 seconds ahead of runner-up Kelly Hamilton from Army with a finals time of 53.88. Both times were also NCAA “B” cuts.

A five-time Patriot League champion, Levendoski is now tied for fourth in program history with Lectie Altman and Meghan Freese for most conference titles. Kathy Lynch ranks third on that list with eight gold medals.

Levendoski was not the only Bison near the top of the 100 back results as Rachel Perry finished third and Maddi Marcheskie was sixth. Both recorded top-five times in program history in the prelims.

Hanson, who finished fifth in the 100 breast as a freshman last February, became Bucknell's first champion in that event since Jamie Flick in 2003. After finishing third in the prelims, Hanson broke her own school record in the final with a time of 1:03.33, touching the wall .09 ahead of Navy junior Ellen Bradford. Hanson became the fifth different current Bison to own a Patriot League gold medal, joining Levendoski, Tara Boyle, Lauren Perry and Katie Hetherington.

Finishing two spots behind Hanson was teammate Ashley Henderson. Her time of 1:03.91 places her third in the program's record book. Also scoring in the 100 breast were Leah Bloodgood (11th) and Gina Gautieri (15th). Bloodgood jumped five spots from her 16th-place showing in the prelims.

Hanson's school record in the 100 breast was one of two Bucknell records to fall on Friday as the 400 medley relay lowered the school record by .45 seconds. Levendoski, Hanson, Julianna Foss and Rachel McGoff teamed up for a second-place finish in the event and touched the wall in 3:44.88.

In addition to taking part in the 400 medley relay, Foss was Bucknell's lone scorer in the 100 fly, placing third. She was just .21 shy of her own school record in the finals as she jumped three spots from her prelims finish.

Bucknell's deepest event on Friday was the 400 IM where it had five scorers, led by a sixth-place finish from Caroline Orem. Alanna Nawrocki was in seventh, while Amber McDonnell placed eighth. Stephanie Koziol was ninth, but her finals time of 4:26.20 would have placed her sixth in the “A” final had she qualified. Meg Lattimer was 15th in the event.

McGoff led the way for the Bison in the 200 free with a sixth-place showing, while Dani Potis (10th) and Lauren Perry (11th) also scored. Potis posted a time of 1:51.21 in the finals to place her fifth on the program's all-time list.

All 16 Bison that competed in individual events Friday advanced to the finals and scored points for Bucknell. No Bison swimmer missed out on the finals.

The final day of the Patriot League Championships is Saturday. The Bison will be aiming for their third consecutive top-two finish. Saturday's schedule includes the 1,650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, women's three-meter diving and the 400 free relay.

Team Scores
1. Navy - 517
2. Bucknell – 447
3. Lehigh – 317
4. Army – 307
5. Boston U. – 288
6. Colgate – 184
7. Loyola – 121
8. American – 116
9. Lafayette – 96
10. Holy Cross – 60

New Top-10 Marks
400 IM (8. Caroline Orem – 4:26.14)
200 free (5. Dani Potis – 1:51.21)
100 breast (1. Diana Hanson – 1:03.33; 3. Ashley Henderson – 1:03.91)
100 back (3. Rachel Perry – 55.07; 4. Maddi Marcheskie – 55.89)
400 medley relay (1. Levendoski, Hanson, Foss, McGoff – 3:44.88)

Bucknell Results
Leah Bloodgood
100 breast prelims – 16th, 1:06.82
100 breast finals – 11th, 1:06.32

Julianna Foss
100 fly prelims – 6th, 56.09
100 fly finals – 3rd, 55.46

Gina Gautieri
100 breast prelims – 13th, 1:06.10
100 breast finals – 15th, 1:06.56

Diana Hanson
100 breast prelims – 3rd, 1:03.76
100 breast finals – 1st, 1:03.33

Ashley Henderson
100 breast prelims – 5th, 1:04.32
100 breast finals – 3rd, 1:03.91

Stephanie Koziol
400 IM prelims – 9th, 4:29.43
400 IM finals – 9th, 4:26.20

Meg Lattimer
400 IM prelims – 15th, 4:36.04
400 IM finals – 15th, 4:34.36

Emma Levendoski
100 back prelims – 1st, 53.74 (Meet Record & NCAA “B” Cut)
100 back finals – 1st, 53.88 (NCAA “B” Cut)

Maddi Marcheskie
100 back prelims – 4th, 55.89
100 back finals – 6th, 56.22

Amber McDonnell
400 IM prelims – 3rd, 4:23.33
400 IM finals – 8th, 4:30.41

Rachel McGoff
200 free prelims – 6th, 1:50.85
200 free finals – 6th, 1:51.24

Alanna Nawrocki
400 IM prelims – 8th, 4:29.07
400 IM finals – 7th, 4:28.52