ALLEGHENY-EMPIRE WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS KICK OFF THIS WEEK
The AMCC women's swimming and diving teams will take to the starting blocks this week for the AMCC-Empire Swimming and Diving Championship Meet.
The AMCC women's swimming and diving teams will take to the starting blocks this week for the AMCC-Empire Swimming and Diving Championship Meet. The AMCC and Empire 8 conferences combined for their first joint championship in February 2020. The event will take place at the Webster Aquatic Center in Webster, NY, with the events kicking off Wednesday evening and concluding Saturday, February 17.
Alfred State College has a solid group on the women's team. Most of the team are returners from last year's conference championship team, including Alyssa James, Mallory O'Keefe, and Madison Snayczuk. Freshman Haleena Reygers is a very dynamic piece on the team, as she is a diver and a swimmer. The Pioneers are looking to make it back-to-back conference championship runs.
The Penn State Altoona women’s swimming team heads into the AMCC Championships after a strong regular season, during which the Lions compiled a 6-4 record in dual meets. Senior Sarah Petry has three times ranked in the top five in individual swims in the AMCC, as she has the second-fastest time in the conference in the 200 Yard Freestyle (2:02.64), the third-fastest in the 500 Yard Freestyle (5:32.03), and the fourth-fastest in the 1,650 Yard Freestyle (19:29.94). Meanwhile, freshman Ayva Harris and sophomore Teah Sponsler each have a pair of top-five times in the AMCC, as Harris ranks fourth in the 50 Yard Breaststroke (34.56) and fifth in the 200 Yard Breaststroke (2:43.13) while Sponsler is fourth in the conference in both the 50 Yard Butterfly (29.57) and 100 Yard Butterfly (1:05.85). Penn State Altoona also has top-three times in the AMCC in the 200, 400, and 800 Yard Freestyle Relay events, as well as the 200 and 400 Yard Medley Relays.
The Penn State Behrend women are looking to capture their 13th overall AMCC Crown, with their last AMCC title coming in 2022. Behrend won four individual events at last year’s Championship. 2023 Diver of the Year, Julia Sank, won both diving events for Behrend. Sank returns for her final championship, along with AMCC Champions Emma Webster and Aliya Webster. Emma Webster won the AMCC title in the 200 backstroke, while Aliya was first in the 1650 free.
The Pitt-Bradford women’s team enter the meet with two wins in dual meets this season, while also seeing a large increase in point production in all competitions. The Panthers are led by sophomore Isabella Cercone, who will be looking to repeat her second team all-conference performance in the breaststroke events. Junior Bailey Fedak will provide a strong presence in the shorter distance freestyle events, while Madison Foote and Emma Slocum will compete for finals qualification. The Panthers enter the championship meet with their largest squad since 2015-16.
The Wells College women's swimming team is led by freshman Zoey Barr. Barr's main event is the 100M Backstroke and had her best time this year at SUNY Oswego with at time of 1:09.82. Barr is already in the top 10 in the Wells College women’s swimming record book for this event as a first-year student-athlete.