STANDISH, ME – The Saint Joseph's Women's Swimming team enjoyed its third successful season in as many years as a varsity program. The Monks posted a 5-2 record in seven head-to-head events and finished third at the GNAC Championship with 130 points – a new team-high at the conference event, in early December.
Under the watch of second-year Head Coach Rick Horr, Saint Joseph's improved upon eight records during the 2009-10 campaign, five of which were set at the New England Regional Meet in White River Junction, VT in late February.
For the first time in three seasons, St. Joe's reached 100 points in all seven competitions, with meet-high totals against University of New England and Gordon College. The 130-point tally at the GNAC meet is the most the Monks have netted at the event, while Hannah Gajewski '12 (Biddeford, ME/McAuley) won three events at the GNAC's and earned All-Tournament honors for the second consecutive season.
Gajewski, the 2009 GNAC Women's Swimming Rookie of the Year, posted a solid sophomore season with 18 top finishes and five runner-up efforts. She earned GNAC Honor Roll mention four times during her second season and has 35 first place finishes with 10 second place results and owns nine individual records in two years at Saint Joseph's.
For the third time in as many years, a newcomer helped set the tone in the pool for the Royal Blue. Christine Cote '13 (Biddeford, ME) earned 20 top-three finishes, with six first-place efforts, and was named as the GNAC Rookie of the Week twice during her first year at St. Joe's. She set a new program record in the 50-Free (27.70) at New England's and also swam a leg, along with Gajewski, Rose Maccarrone '12 (Hingham, MA) and Jamie Wojtkiewicz '12 (Bedford, NH), for the program record-breaking 400-Free Relay team in the regional meet.
Wojtkiewicz and Maccarrone also enjoyed excellent sophomore campaigns, as the pair combined for 33 top three efforts and 13 first-place performances.
The senior trio of Lindsay Bates (Waterville, ME), Danielle Harmon (Poland, ME) and Ashton Piers (Falmouth, ME/Deering) certainly left their mark on the program and will be missed, in the pool and out. Piers, a two-year team captain along with Bates, closed out her swimming career with a fine season, having notched 18 top three and seven first-place efforts. She also set a new team record in the 50-Breast (36.07) at the GNAC Championship in December. Bates and Harmon accounted for 15 top-three performances during their respective senior seasons.
Anne Roberts '12 (Hopkinton, NH) registered 13 top-three efforts and improved her times across the board as a sophomore. Fellow second-year Amanda Lanoix (Lyman, ME) had nine top-three times while a pair of newcomers, Mary Casinghino '11 (Manchester, NH) and Brittanie Walsh '13 (South Portland, ME) accounted for four top-three efforts apiece.
