Bucknell Splits Double-Dual Meet

LEWISBURG, Pennsylvania, January 14. IN front of a packed Kinney Natatorium on Alumni Weekend, the Bucknell women's swimming and diving squad split in its Patriot League double-dual Saturday afternoon, trouncing Army 215-85, but coming up just short against Colgate, 158-142. The split brings the Bison's record to 2-4-1 overall, 2-2-1 against league competition, while the Black Knights are now 2-6 (1-4 PL) and the Raiders vault to 5-3, 3-1 PL).

The Orange and Blue started off on a high note as the team of freshman Courtney Warren (Montour Falls, N.Y./Watkins Glen), sophomore Kelly Morris (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen), senior Katherine Munson (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) and senior Rebecca Scheffter (Mt. Airy, Md./Linganore) took first in the 200 medley relay with a time of one minute, 48.61 seconds, good for 10th in the school record books.

Bucknell followed up by stretching its lead over Colgate to 24-12, as junior Kirsten Skroski (North Haven, Conn./Hopkins) won the 1,000 free with a time of 10:37.47 and sophomore Ally St. Claire (Silver Spring, Md./Edmund Burke) finished third in 10:46.84.

However, the Raiders responded by taking three of the top four spots in the 200 free to climb in front of the Bison by one point. Colgate then pushed its advantage over Bucknell to 40-34, as Beverly Walker edged out Warren for first in the 100 back by just .04 seconds. Warren's runner-up time of 59.56 ranks eighth-fastest Bison history.

Morris followed up with a win in the 100 breast (1:07.29), and, along with senior Nikki Woodward's (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) third-place showing in the event (1:07.97), helped the Orange and Blue close its deficit to one against the Raiders.

Colgate then expanded its advantage with wins in two more close races in the 200 fly and the 50 free. For Bucknell, Munson and Scheffter posted second-place finishes in those events, Munson in the 200 fly (2:10.71) and Scheffter in the 50 free (24.70).

The Bison gained ground with a strong showing in the one-meter dive as freshman Eliza Massie (Rochester, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland), freshman Rebecca Bersani (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) and freshman Allison FitzPatrick (Berwyn, Pa./Episcopal Academy) went two-three-four, holding the Raiders to just three team points in the event, which gave Bucknell a 77-73 lead. Massie posted a score of 219.15, while Bersani and FitzPatrick followed with marks of 223.28 and 187.87, respectively.

In the next two events, Colgate climbed back in front by claiming the top two spots in the 100 free and 200 back. The top finishers for the Orange in Blue both took third, Scheffter in the 100 free (53.71) and senior Laura Goeller (Wilmington, Del./Tower Hill School) in the 200 back (2:10.80).

The Bison then pulled within seven of the Raiders at 107-100, after Woodward and Morris took first and third in the 200 breast with times of 2:24.20 and 2:28.06, respectively.

That would be as close as Bucknell would come to catching Colgate, however, despite solid performances by members of the Orange and Blue in the remaining five events. Skroski was second in the 500 free with a time of 5:09.54 and Munson was third in the 100 fly (59.92).

Bersani and Massie claimed the two highest scores on the three-meter board, Bersani with a mark of 227.65 and Massie with 215.10 points. Goeller finished as the runner-up in the 400 IM, touching the wall in 4:37.01, and Bucknell's 200 free relay squad of freshman Megan Mongan (Malvern, Pa./Villa Maria Academy), Munson, Skroski and Scheffter took second with a time of 1:38.35.

During a break in the meet's action, former Bison head coach, Dick Russell was honored on the deck as Bucknell Director of Athletics John Hardt and current head coach Dan Schinnerer presented him with a plaque acknowledging his lasting contributions to the success of both the swimming and diving and water polo programs. Russell, a member of the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame, coached the men's swimming and diving team from 1968-94 and created the water polo program at Bucknell, guiding the team from its inception as a varsity sport in 1977 until 1986. Russell's swim teams compiled a dual-meet record of 154-121 and won 11 conference championships.

The Bison will return to action when the team travels to New York, N.Y., on Saturday, Jan. 20, to take on Columbia at 12 p.m.

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