Swim & Dive Opens Season at Colgate

Saturday, March 6

Hamilton, N.Y.

12 p.m.

Bucknell University

Colgate

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

3/2/2021 12:15:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

A SEASON PREVIEW IS INCLUDED BELOW THE MEET NOTES

Setting the Scene
What: Bucknell at Colgate
When: Saturday, March 6 – 12 p.m.
Where: Lineberry Natatorium – Hamilton, N.Y.

Bucknell Women at a Glance
• Bucknell wrapped up its 2019-20 dual meet schedule with a sterling 10-1 (7-1 PL) record. With their rivalry win over Lehigh, the Bison reached the double digits in victories during a single season for the sixth time in program history. They previously accomplished the feat in 1980-81 (11-2), 1984-85 (10-4), 1993-94 (10-1), 1994-95 (10-1) and 1997-1998 (11-2).
• Over the previous two seasons, Bucknell posted a combined dual meet record of 18-2 (13-2 PL); both of the team's losses came to reigning Patriot League champion Navy.
• The Bison placed second at the 2020 Patriot League Championships with 533 points. The Bison, who finished as the Patriot League runners-up for the 12th time in program history and the first time since 2015, were bolstered by eight-medal winning performances, including a golden showing by Maggie Wyngowski in the 400 IM behind an NCAA 'B' cut time.
• Seven Bison were honored on the 2020 All-Patriot League Team: Wyngowski (1st), Maddie Hartigan (1st), Catherine Craig (2nd), Emily Gorham (2nd), Emma Hadley (2nd), Abby Merriman (2nd) and Sabrina Vumbacco (2nd). Vumbacco was also named the Rookie of the Patriot League Championship meet.
• Bucknell's total of All-Patriot League selections was its highest since 2015, when nine Bison made the All-Patriot League squad.
• Of Bucknell's 2020 All-Patriot League honorees, Hadley and Merriman were lost to graduation.
• Hartigan and Wyngowski are the team's returning school record holders. Hartigan owns the standards in the 200 freestyle (1:48.22) and the 500 freestyle (4:46.48) while Wyngowski is listed first in the 200 breaststroke (2:14.54), the 200 IM (2:00.15) and the 400 IM (4:15.26).
• Gorham (200 freestyle), Hartigan (800 freestyle) and Wyngowski (200 medley) swam on relay teams that set school records.

Bucknell Men at a Glance
• The Bison placed fourth at the 2020 Patriot League Championships with 342.5 points. A highlight of the meet for the Bison was a bronze-medal performance by the 400 freestyle relay team of Matt McGoey, Matt Mills, Jack Rose and Leo Kuyl.
• Bucknell wrapped up its 2019-20 dual meet season with a 5-6 (4-4 PL) record.
• The Bison's 5-2 start was its best since the 2013-14 campaign. That season, they went 5-1 (4-0 PL) in their first six duals en route to a 7-3 (5-1 PL) record.
• Bucknell returns 2020 Academic All-Patriot League pick Garrett Sommer, a diver who has scored 68 career points at the Patriot League Championships.
• Returnees Kuyl (400 freestyle), Jacob Lubinski (400 medley), Mills (400 freestyle) and Rose (200 medley, 400 freestyle) swam on relay teams that set school records.
• The Bison lost McGoey to graduation. A two-time All-Patriot League pick, he won one Patriot League medal and set the school record in the 200 IM (1:47.84).

Colgate Women at a Glance
• In 2019-20, the Raiders went 3-5 (1-3 PL) and placed seventh at the Patriot League Championships with 168 points.
• Colgate leads the all-time series with Bucknell, 9-3. The Raiders were bolstered by winning eight meets in a row from 2006 to 2013.
• The Bison downed Colgate, 192-104, on Jan. 10, 2016 in their most recent meeting. That dual meet was held at Lineberry Natatorium.

Colgate Men at a Glance
• In 2019-20, the Raiders went 1-7 (0-4 PL) and placed 10th at the Patriot League Championships with 96 points.
• Bucknell leads the all-time series with Colgate, 32-9. The Bison have won the past 25 dual meets against the Raiders, a stretch that spans from 1992 to 2016.
• Bucknell toppled Colgate, 201-82, on Jan. 10, 2016 in their most recent meeting. That dual meet was held at Lineberry Natatorium.

A Look Ahead
• The Bison next travel to Army West Point for a dual on Saturday, March 20.

Season Preview

The Bucknell swimming & diving teams are ready to return to competition. After multiple months away from the pool, the Bison spent the fall preparing to make the most of their spring season.

"We were grateful to come back together in the fall," said head coach Dan Schinnerer, who is in his 15th season at the helm of both programs. "As a team, we emphasized making the most of the opportunities we did have and not spending time and energy worrying about what we couldn't do or weren't able to do. We built up to practicing in the water for an hour to an hour and a half six days a week, with two additional lifts. While it wasn't our usual schedule, it was progress. We were very mindful of managing our numbers in the pool and in the locker room so we practiced in smaller groups and offered more practices."

Training during the COVID-19 public threat has been challenging. Schinnerer is proud of how the Bison adapted, noting that their time away from the pool has made them even more eager to compete.

"Like everything, the sport of swimming & diving was impacted by closures and shutdowns," Schinnerer said. "In some ways, it was more impacted than many other sports because, without a pool, you can't compete or practice. Pools have been closed for several stretches, and that has limited the types of training our team could do. While our team members did a good job improvising when pools where closed, it's fair to say everyone lost some training opportunities. That said, I'm proud of how they stayed positive and did their best to continue their training."

The Bucknell women are in the midst of a historically successful period. Over the course of the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, they went a combined 18-2 (13-2 Patriot League) in dual meet competition, with their two losses coming to Patriot League champion Navy. They wrapped up their 2019-20 dual meet schedule with a sterling 10-1 (7-1 Patriot League) ledger. It was the sixth time they reached the double digits in victories during a single season and the first time since 1997-98.

For guiding the Bison to a runner-up showing at the 2020 Patriot League Championships, Schinnerer was named the Patriot League Women's Coach of the Year. The Bison women, who finished as the Patriot League runners-up for the 12th time in program history and the first time since 2015, were bolstered by eight-medal winning performances. They went on to take second at the 25-team ECAC Championships. It was their fourth-consecutive top-three performance there; they previously placed second in 2017 and third in both 2019 and 2018.

"The women are coming off an outstanding season," Schinnerer said. "We're definitely looking to maintain our momentum from the past few seasons. We didn't graduate a large class last year, but it was an impactful one. Similarly, we didn't bring in a large class of first years this fall, but we hope it will be impactful. In addition, we bring back many swimmers and divers who played key roles in last year's success."

On the men's side, the Bison remain a relatively young team. Despite their youth and inexperience, they finished a promising fourth at last year's Patriot League Championships. Schinnerer noted that, for them to have success this season, returnees and newcomers alike will have to continue to develop.

"The men were a very young team last year, with only two seniors and 27 underclassmen," Schinnerer said. "We have the potential to make some big steps forward this year. We've lost a lot of training time, but we're still hopeful that many of our juniors and sophomores will make progress. We also bring back strong leaders in our senior class and are excited about what our first years will bring to our team."

Below is a stroke group by stroke group breakdown of the 2020-21 Bison, first the women and then the men.

WOMEN

IM
Returnees: Catherine Craig, Meagan Hathaway, Sabrina Vumbacco, Maggie Wyngowski
Newcomers: Stephanie Walsh

Maggie Wyngowski enters her senior year with a lengthy list of accolades. A three-time All-Patriot League First Team honoree, she has won five Patriot League medals, set three school records and scored 33 individual victories.

Much of her success has come in IM races. After placing second in the 400 IM at her first two Patriot League Championships, she captured her first gold medal at the 2020 rendition. That season, she also took home a silver medal in the 200 IM.

Wyngowski will look to lower her school-record times in the 200 IM (2:00.15) and the 400 IM (4:15.26) this season; notably, she has already made program history by being the first Bison to clear 2:02 in the 200 IM and 4:18 in the 400 IM.

"Maggie is extremely dedicated to her process," Schinnerer said. "She likes to do the work and wants to put in the time and effort to be the best she can be. She's also very resilient. She deals with her setbacks in a constructive way and then looks to do better."

Schinnerer likes the depth he has behind Wyngowski, noting that "IM is an event where we expect to have great strength. Maggie obviously leads the way, but we have a lot of other swimmers who will be impactful in these events."

Freestyle
Returnees: Sophia Donati (Sprint), Emily Gorham, Maddie Hartigan, Amanda Lauer (Distance), Alexandra Ritorto (Sprint), Sabrina Vumbacco (Distance)
Newcomers: Kayla Lichtner (Sprint), Caroline Mahoney (Sprint)

As they do at IM, the Bison boast impressive depth at freestyle. Headlining the group is junior Maddie Hartigan, the defending Patriot League champion in the 1,650 freestyle.

A two-time All-Patriot League First Team selection, Hartigan has won five Patriot League medals; beyond her 1,650-freestyle gold, she has won two silvers in the 500 freestyle, one silver in the 1,650 freestyle and one bronze in the 200 freestyle.

Hartigan's name is already peppered throughout Bucknell's record book. Beyond her school records in the 200 freestyle (1:48.22) and the 500 freestyle (4:46.48), she holds program top-10 times in five other individual events and was a member of nine relay teams with program top-10 times; she also won a staggering 36 individual events in just two seasons of work.

"Maddie loves to race," Schinnerer said. "She doesn't care what the meet is or what the event is. She loves to compete. She is inspired by her team and also inspires her teammates."

Despite the loss of standout Abby Merriman to graduation, Schinnerer expects distance freestyle will remain one of his team's greatest strengths. Beyond Hartigan, the Bison return seniors Emily Gorham and Amanda Lauer and sophomore Sabrina Vumbacco.

Vumbacco, the 2020 Rookie of the Patriot League Championship Meet, was right behind Hartigan, winning bronze in the 500 freestyle and the 1,650 freestyle. During their time in Lewisburg, Gorham and Lauer have consistently reached the finals in freestyle events at the Patriot League Championships.

"Last year, distance free was a great strength for us," Schinnerer said. "We're very fortunate to bring back three swimmers in the 500 and four swimmers in the 1,650 who reached the finals at the Patriot League Championships."

In the sprint freestyle events, Schinnerer will look for sophomores Sophia Donati and Alexandra Ritorto and first years Kayla Lichtner and Caroline Mahoney to make an impact.

"This is an area where we were young last year," Schinnerer said. "We're definitely looking to make improvements. Maddie has often stepped into the 100 in dual meets, but we definitely want to increase our productivity, especially at the conference meet, in the sprint events."

Backstroke
Returnees: Megan Koczur, Megan Phelan, Meghan Taner
Newcomers: Esme Hunter, Caroline Mahoney

Over the past five seasons, the Bison have excelled in the backstroke. Thanks to 2020 graduate Emma Hadley, and 2019 graduates Julie Byrne and Steph Boyd, they have consistently racked up points in the backstroke events during dual meets and at the Patriot League Championships.

With Hadley, who scored 132.50 career points at the Patriot League Championships, gone, Bucknell will look for new faces to continue its winning backstroke tradition.

Leading that group are junior Meghan Taner and sophomore Megan Phelan, both of whom have previously scored in backstroke races at the Patriot League Championships.

"We relied on veterans like Julie, Steph and Emma in the past, and we'll be very young in this area this year," Schinnerer said. "We're excited about this group's potential."

Breaststroke
Returnees: Catherine Craig, Palma Foschi-Walko, Alexandra Ritorto, Maggie Wyngowski
Newcomers: Grace Kujawski, Stephanie Walsh

At breaststroke, the Bison boast talented returnees and newcomers. As she does at IM, Wyngowski headlines the group; she enters the season with a school record (2:14.54) and a Patriot League bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke.

Schinnerer expects sophomore Catherine Craig to build on her strong rookie season. Craig earned a spot on the 2020 All-Patriot League Team after going sixth in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 breaststroke and seventh in the 400 IM at the championship meet.

"Last year, we had a strong one-two punch in Maggie and Catherine," Schinnerer said. "We expect to have even more depth in these events this year."

Butterfly
Returnees: Alexis Faria, Rachel Hazard, Caroline Mayk, Molly See

Bucknell only has returnees at butterfly. Of the group, junior Alexis Faria has had the largest impact to date. She currently owns the program's second-fastest 200 butterfly (2:01.38) and third-fastest 100 butterfly (55.02) times; she also netted a group-best 19 points at last year's Patriot League Championships.

"We have a strong group of returners," Schinnerer said. "We're looking for each of them to make another step in their progression."

Diving
Returnees: Jamilie Atiyeh, Naomi Douek, Alaina Schumann
Newcomers: Kate Gottwald

Schinnerer believes that the Bison divers are poised to have a very strong season.

"Much like our team, our divers have shown consistent progress each of the past few years," Schinnerer said. "We're very excited about our blend of returners and newcomers."

Senior Alaina Schumann is the group's leader. She has scored on both boards at each of the past two Patriot League Championships, placing as high as eighth on the 3-meter board.

Sophomore Naomi Douek will push Schumann to new heights; she netted eight points at her first Patriot League Championships by placing 13th on both boards.

MEN

IM
Returnees: Sean Quinn, Carter Weiland
Newcomers: John Gehrig

Despite the loss of the versatile, and decorated, Matt McGoey to graduation, Schinnerer is confident in his trio of IMers.

"This will probably be our strongest and deepest event group," Schinnerer said.

Juniors Sean Quinn and Carter Weiland have competed at each of the past two Patriot League Championships, scoring a combined 40 points. Quinn notably reached the 'A' finals in last year's 200 IM, ultimately placing seventh.

The juniors will be pushed by newcomer John Gehrig, who previously qualified for the USA Swimming Junior Nationals in the 200 IM and 400 IM, as well as the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly.

Freestyle
Returnees: Mitch Gavars (Distance), Leo Kuyl (Sprint), Matt Mills (Sprint), Sean Quinn, Jack Rose (Sprint), Christian Stef, Carter Weiland (Distance)

The Bison were young at sprint freestyle a year ago, regularly sending out three or four underclassmen. Schinnerer said that junior Jack Rose and sophomores Leo Kuyl and Matt Mills appear poised to take the next step in their careers.

Rose has been a fixture on Bucknell's relay teams during his time in Lewisburg, most notably swimming on four of five relays at the 2020 Patriot League Championships. He also was a member of the 200 medley (1:29.19) and 400 freestyle (2:59.19) relay teams that set school records.

Kuyl excelled in his Patriot League Championships debut, netting 20 points behind a sixth-place showing in the 50 freestyle and a 10th-place effort in the 100 freestyle. Mills was right behind him in the 100 freestyle, taking 11th.

"We showed some great progress in these events last year," Schinnerer said. "We're excited to see what we can do with this group this year."

Senior Mitch Gavars will lead the Bison's distance freestyle group. He has competed at three Patriot League Championships to date, scoring a combined 55 points; he has finished as high as fourth in the 1,650 freestyle and as high as 11th in the 500 freestyle.

"We have more veterans and upperclassmen in the distance freestyle group," Schinnerer said. "But that doesn't mean there isn't still room for growth and improvement."

Backstroke
Returnees: Kevin Flynn, Nick Haddad, Garrett Kiesel, Sam Miller, Jack Rose, Sam Sweeney

Backstroke is an area where Bucknell boasts plenty of depth and talent.

"We have a lot of depth in this group," Schinnerer said "We're looking for them to push each other towards further development."

Of the group, junior Nick Haddad has had the largest impact to date. He racked up 41 points at the past two Patriot League Championships, placing as high as fifth in the 100 backstroke and as high as sixth in the 200 backstroke. He also enters the season with the program's third-fastest 200 backstroke (1:47.34) and fourth-fastest 100 backstroke (49.55) times.

Breaststroke
Returnees: George Rump
Newcomers: Noah Basista

As they were at sprint freestyle, the Bison were young at breaststroke a year ago. But Schinnerer is confident that sophomore George Rump and newcomer Noah Basista will be difference makers.

"Last year, we were young," Schinnerer said. "We often had only freshmen in this event. While it's still a young stroke group, we know it will be better."

At his first Patriot League Championships, Rump reached the finals in both of the breaststroke races. There, he cracked Bucknell's top five in the 200, clocking a time of 2:01.37. Basista, a three-time NISCA All-American out of Boardman High School, appears poised to make a seamless transition to the collegiate ranks.

Butterfly
Returnees: Jacob Lubinski, Sean Quinn, Nate Romanowski
Newcomers: John Gehrig, Connor Martin

Schinnerer considers his butterfly group developmental. It has plenty of potential but also plenty of question marks.

"We have potential in this group," Schinnerer said. "It will be important to develop that potential into depth and points."

Senior Jacob Lubinski, who has scored in at least one butterfly event at each of the past three Patriot League Championships, is looking to end his career on a high note. IMers Quinn and Gehrig are also expected to have an impact at butterfly.

Diving
Returnees: Will Cadwallader, Nick Pirone, Garrett Sommer

All three of Bucknell's divers have experienced success at the Patriot League Championships. And Schinnerer is excited to see what they will accomplish this season.

"We're very excited to have three divers with experience," Schinnerer said. "They are proven point scorers, and that's always good to have."

Senior Garrett Sommer, a 2020 Academic All-Patriot League honoree, has scored 68 career points at the Patriot League Championships. There, he has finished as high as fifth on the 1-meter board and as high as sixth on the 3-meter board.

At the Patriot League Championships, junior Will Cadwallader has placed as high as 10th while sophomore Nick Pirone has finished as high as 12th. In addition, Sommer and Cadwallader each have already cracked the Bison's top-10 on both boards.