W&L Tops ODAC Swimming Poll

Generals Earn Six Top Votes, R-MC Corrals the Seventh

 FOREST, Va. --- Washington and Lee University garnered six first place votes and 48 poll points as the league’s coaches voted the Generals to the top spot in the 2010-11 ODAC Swimming Preseason Poll.  Randolph-Macon College collected the remaining top nod and 42 tallies for second place, and Sweet Briar College secured third position with 35 points in the annual survey.

Washington and Lee claimed its 20^th overall ODAC swimming title, posting a record 1,048 points at the 2010 ODAC/Atlantic States Championship meet at the Dedmon Center on the campus of Radford University.  The Generals earned a program-best 17 all-conference awards following the 2009-10 campaign, including ODAC Swimmer of the Year (Sarah Simpson ’10), ODAC Rookie of the Year (Brittany Ross), ODAC Coach of the Year (Kami Gardner) and ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Jenna Worsham ’10) awards.

The 2010-11 squad is a younger bunch than in years past as 20 underclassmen dot the W&L roster.  The cupboard is far from bare as 14 of the Generals’ 17 all-conference winners are back for another splash.  Included in that list are senior captains Tess Hayden and Becky Guynn, seven juniors led by Katie Salvati, and 13 second-year competitors spearheaded by Brittany Ross.  Salvati earned top finishes in the 200-yard backstroke (2:10.69) and the 400-yard individual medley (4:45.37) at the ODAC Championship meet.  Ross broke school records in the 100-yard (59.54) and 200-yard butterfly (2:11.54) events on the way to All-ODAC First Team honors.

Now three years removed from its first ODAC swimming title in 2007, Randolph-Macon welcomes back several top performers from 2009-10, including five-of-six all-conference honorees.  Headlining that list is junior Lizzy Buckley and sophomore Rebecca Stevenson.  Buckley earned her all-league accolades after she touched the wall first overall in the 100-yard freestyle (54.17) at the ODAC Championships.  Stevenson joined Buckley as a league champion when she won the 500-yard free in a time of 5:14.95.

Sweet Briar kept the pressure on Randolph-Macon for second place throughout the 2009-10 ODAC Championships.  The Vixens set program records in the 200-yard medley relay (1:56.53) and the 200-yard breaststroke, the latter courtesy of Hayley Hill ’10.  Sweet Briar will be looking to student-athletes like senior Melissa Simpson and junior Charlotte Greenwood to help lead the way in 2010-11.

Bridgewater College broke 28 team records a season ago, including nearly every individual mark at some point throughout the year.  Sophomores Danielle Dillon and Jeni Zeiler combined to set 11 individual records and nine relay standards.  The second-year duo heads a roster that features 13 underclassmen, including nine freshmen.

Guilford College, Emory & Henry College and Hollins University will all attempt to climb the ladder throughout the 2010-11 campaign.  The Quakers will look for student-athletes like sophomore Allison Semmler to continue to develop and lead the squad.  E&H jumped a spot in the ODAC rankings, finishing ahead of Hollins for sixth place for the first time in the program’s five-year history.  Hollins features nine freshmen on its roster as HU looks to make its move back up the league tables.

Listed below is the 2010-11 ODAC Swimming Preseason Poll.  For more information, visit any of the participating schools’ websites, or go to the ODAC’s home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don’t forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook by clicking HERE.  You can also follow the ODAC on Twitter by clicking HERE.

2010-11 ODAC SWIMMING PRESEASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes