U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Unanimous Selection to Win Eighth Straight Landmark Conference Title

TOWSON, Maryland, October 9. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy has dominated Landmark men’s swimming & diving over the last seven years with seven straight conference titles. The Mariners are the unanimous pick to repeat this season after earning seven first place votes and 70 points in the coaches’ preseason poll.

Catholic University was picked second with 49 points and the final first place vote while Susquehanna University finished third in the poll with 46 points. The University of Scranton rounds out the top half of the poll with 31 points.

Merchant Marine only had two seniors a year ago which leads to a 2014-15 team full of veterans. Two-time Landmark Swimmer of the Year, Kevin Lindgren, returns for his senior season as a three-time All-American. Sophomore Stone Hewitt is a multiple NCAA qualifier after competing at the NCAA Championships with Lindgren last year. The Mariners also return two-time Landmark Diver of the Year, William Porter.

The Landmark coaches picked the Cardinals to finish second this season. Head coach Paul Waas brought in 11 freshmen to give Catholic its largest roster in program history. Guido Saccaggi returns as the reigning Landmark Rookie of the Year. The sophomore won the 500 freestyle, 1650 freestyle, and the 400 IM last year with meet and pool records in all three events.

Susquehanna is coming off of a second-place finish at last year’s Championships. The team returns a bulk of its All-Conference performers from a year ago including William Crumrine, Danny Csakai, and Eric Lawrence. The Crusaders also added four freshmen to the roster.

Scranton Head Coach Paul DeAngelo welcomes back 20 swimmers that will be out to erase the memory of last year’s disappointing fifth-place finish at the Landmark Championships. The Royals will be strong in the freestyle due to the return of senior Ryan Holmes, junior Grant Owens, and sophomore Matt Finnegan, but the loss of John Hughes, who finished runner-up in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke at last year’s Landmark meet, will be a difficult hole to fill.

Marywood University was picked fifth in the poll with 29 points while Goucher College was selected sixth with 26 points. Drew University finished seventh in the poll with 11 points and Elizabethtown College wrapped up the poll in eighth with 10 points.

The 2014-15 season kicks off this weekend with Catholic in action. All eight conference teams will compete at the Landmark Championships Feb. 12-15 at the Germantown Indoor Swim Center in Germantown, Md.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworld.com.

2014 Landmark Men’s Swimming & Diving Preseason Poll
Rank	Institution (First Place)	Points
1.	USMMA (7)	70
2.	Catholic (1)	49
3.	Susquehanna	46
4.	Scranton	31
5.	Marywood	29
6.	Goucher	26
7.	Drew	11
8.	Elizabethtown	10

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