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LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's women's swimming team begins its bid for a fourth Centennial Conference (CC) Title this Thursday when the CC Championships begin at 7:00 p.m. at F&M's Kunkel Aquatic Center. The Diplomats will host all seven sessions, one on Thursday and then two per day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as the Conference gathers to crown team and individual champions. F&M looks to earn its first team crown since 2010 after finishing fifth last year.
Championship History
Gettysburg has historically dominated the team championships, winning 14 team titles in 23 seasons of competition. Ursinus ('14, '15, '16, '17), who enters the weekend looking to five-peat, and F&M ('04, '05, '10) are the only other teams to win more than two.
Last year, the Bears tallied 815 points to win, followed by Gettysburg in second with 537. The Diplomats took fifth with 405. Ursinus again enters this year's competition as the favorites after topping the CC duals standings with a mark of 10-1, 7-0 CC.
Medal Hunt
Grace Pereles and Katherine Hirsch look to medal in the distance and mid-distance freestyle events for the Diplomats. Pereles enters her third championship seeded fifth in the 500-yard Freestyle (5:15.08) and seventh in the 1,650 (11:04.08) – the event she finished fourth in at last year's championships. Sophomore Hirsch sits fourth in the 500-yard Freestyle (5:14.91), fifth for the 200 Freestyle (1:57.18) and fourth in the 100-yard Freestyle (54.62).
After taking sixth last year, Erin Fago sits in the fifth seed for the 50-yard Freestyle with a time of 24.93, followed by Julia Pavlov (10th, 25.10).
Seniors Melissa Mullin and Kellen McDonald look to set the pace in the 400-yard Individual Medley. Mullin, who currently holds the conference record (4:32.57) and meet record (4:32.59), took home the bronze last year and sits in the sixth seed (4:47.66). McDonald is seeded second in the same event with a time of 4:42.95.
Michelle Wall looks to make her mark in the Breaststroke events, currently sitting fifth in the 100-yard (1:08.45) and fourth in the 200-yard (2:29.70).
Anna Hess enters the weekend as a strong medal contender in the Backstroke events, seeded third for both the 100-yard (59.51) and 200-yard (2:09.26). Janashree Jonnalagadda is also in the hunt for the 200-yard Backstroke (ninth, 2:11.81).
Leah Williamson mounts a medal challenge in the 100-yard Butterfly, as her time of 1:00.33 is good for the eighth fastest in the CC this year.
Updated Championship Format: Beginning this year, the CC Championship event now spans four days. Thursday evening will have two relays, the 200 Medley, and 800 Freestyle, then Friday-Sunday will only have one relay per day. This format is modeled after DI Championships to allow sufficient rest between relays and individual events so that athletes can perform to the best of their capabilities.
Following From Home: Each session will be broadcast in HD by Franklin & Marshall Athletic Communications. Click here access the stream. Live results for each race will be available here.
Order of Events
Day One Finals | Thursday, Feb. 22 | 7:00 p.m.
1/2 200-yard Medley Relay
20-Minute Break
3/4 800-yard Freestyle Relay
Day Two Preliminaries | Friday, Feb. 23 | 10:00 a.m.
7/8 500-yard Freestyle
9/10 200-yard Individual Medley
11/12 50-yard Freestyle
Day Two Finals | Friday, Feb. 23 | 6:00 p.m.
5/6 200-yard Freestyle Relay
20-Minute Break
7/8 500-yard Freestyle
9/10 200-yard Individual Medley
11/12 50-yard Freestyle
Day Three Preliminaries | Saturday, Feb. 24 | 10:00 a.m.
15/16 400-yard Individual Medley
17/18 100-yard Butterfly
19/20 200-yard Freestyle
21/22 100-yard Breaststroke
23/24 100-yard Backstroke
Day Three Finals | Saturday, Feb. 24 | 6:00 p.m.
13/14 400-yard Medley Relay
20-Minute Break
15/16 400-yard Individual Medley
17/18 100-yard Butterfly
19/20 200-yard Freestyle
21/22 100-yard Breaststroke
23/24 100-yard Backstroke
Day Four Preliminaries | Sunday, Feb. 25 | 10:00 a.m.
27/28 200-yard Backstroke
29/30 100-yard Freestyle
31/32 200-yard Breaststroke
33/34 200-yard Butterfly
20-Minute Break
25/26 1,650-yard Freestyle (timed final)*
Day Four Finals | Sunday, Feb. 25 | 6:00 p.m.
25/26 1,650-yard Freestyle (timed final)*
27/28 200-yard Backstroke
29/30 100-yard Freestyle
31/32 200-yard Breaststroke
33/34 200-yard Butterfly
20-Minute Break
35/36 400-yard Freestyle Relay
* - All heats of the 1,650-yard freestyle, except the final heat, will be contested at the conclusion of the preliminary session. The heats will be swum fastest to slowest, alternating women and men. The fastest heat of the event will be contested in the Finals.