March 9, 2006
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Senior Greg Van Volkenburg (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) and sophomore Liz Geary (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) were named First Team All-Patriot League, and three women were named to the Second Team, for their performances at the Swimming and Diving Championships on February 23-25 in Annapolis, Md., the league office announced today.
Head swimming and diving coach Jim Dailey was named Patriot League Women's Swimming Coach of the Year following the championships for guiding the Lafayette women to fourth, their highest finish in the 15-year history of the league. The Leopards finished with 426.5 points, outdistancing Army, which placed fifth with 389.5 points.
"I'm really excited for both of our teams," said Dailey, who is in his 13th season at the helm of Lafayette swimming. "The women broke seven school records and placed 38 performances on Lafayette's All-Time Top 10 list, and the men swam 94 percent of all of their swims' best times and added seven performances to the Top 10."
Geary had three top-eight finishes in individual events and was a member of four relay teams to lead Lafayette with 42 points, placing her on the First Team. She broke a pair of school records in the prelims at the championships, snapping the standards in the 100 breast (1:05.46) and 100 back (58.45) in back-to-back events. Geary was third in the 100 breast and fifth in the 200 back in the finals, and placed seventh in the 200 back.
She also swam on a pair of school-record relay teams, lowering the previous marks set last year in the 200 medley (1:49.32) and 400 medley (3:55.17) which placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Geary was a member of the 400 free (4th) and 200 free (5th) relay squads as well.
Van Volkenburg earned First Team mention after being named to the Second Team as a junior. He anchored the men's team throughout the season and earned 43 points at the championships, placing in three individual and four relay events. The senior was third in the 200 IM, fourth in the 100 back and seventh in the 200 back. He broke the school record in the 100 back in the finals, clocking a time of 50.86. The men's 200 free, 200 back, 400 free and 400 medley relay squads all finished seventh, mirroring the team's finish in the Patriot League Championships.
Three women were named Second Team All-Patriot League. Sophomore Julie Sauer (Rochester, N.Y./Rush Henrietta) was a repeat selection, while sophomore Katie Kaczka (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) and senior Tory Littlefield (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) were also recognized.
Sauer recorded the Leopards' highest finish of the championships, placing second in the 200 fly in a school-record time of 2:07.18 and lowering the standard that she set in the fall at Bucknell. She also placed seventh in the 100 back and 10th in the 100 fly, and was part of the school-record 400 medley relay team.
Kaczka broke a pair of school records, reaching marks in the 50 free (24.07) and 100 free (52.73). She placed third and sixth, respectively, in those events in the finals. Kaczka was a member of the 400 medley relay squad that broke the school record, and all three free relay teams - the 200 (5th), 400 (4th) and 800 (6th).
Littlefield finished in the top 10 in three events, scoring seventh in the 200 fly, ninth in the 100 fly and 10th in the 200 IM. She also participated in the 800 free relay. Littlefield held the previous school record in the 200 fly which she set in 2004.
"Over the past three years the women have broken 24 school records," Dailey said. "During that short span, our team has changed immensely. Three years ago, 10 school records were broken, all in individual events. The following season we set seven records, including five relays, so we went from having some outstanding individuals to being a team. This year, the women broke five individual and two relay records, so we're becoming a great team with great individuals."
"The foundation of the women's team is our freshman and sophomore classes. All five individual school records in 2006 were set by sophomores. The two relay teams were made up of freshmen and sophomores, so the future of the team looks very good," Dailey enthused.
