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The William and Mary women’s swimming team came up just points out of the top three at last year’s CAA Championships, but with a large majority of the team back for 2012-13 and one of the strongest recruiting classes in memory joining the Tribe, expectations are rightly high heading into the winter season. Director of Swimming Matt Crispino ’02 and his staff will be looking to regain a spot at the top of the Colonial Athletic Association standings, and to continue the wholesale revision of the Tribe record books begun last year.
Sprinters
The sprint freestyles will be led this year by three top-shelf returning talents, in addition to two headlining freshmen and a deep depth chart. Leading the way is a pair of CAA medalists in junior Sara Shaner and sophomore Megan Howard. Shaner swam the anchor leg on both of W&M’s medley relays as well as the third-place 200 free relay at last year’s CAA Championships, and also swam on the 400 free relay to earn a second bronze medal. She has timed 50.95 in the 100 and 23.48 in the 50 free. Howard was also part of both third-place free relays, swimming the lead leg each time, and also took fifth in the open 100 free. Her lead-off of 23.13 on the 200 free relay is the team’s best time this season, and Howard also ranks second in the 100 at 51.14 seconds.
The third top veteran is senior Gabrielle Mizerak, who has timed 24.32 in the 50 and 51.89 in the 100 free. She also took home a pair of bronze medals from the conference meet last spring, on the 400 and 800 free relays. The top two newcomers joining the team for 2012-13 are Noelle Klockner and Jessie Ustjanauskas. Klockner was third in the 50 free in the state of New Jersey last year and a YMCA National finalist, timing 23.96, and has also swum 1:52.28 in the 200 free. Ustjanauskas , while stronger in the backstroke, has still timed 51.80 in the 100 free and qualified for Junior Nationals in the event.
Distance
The distance crew grew into one of the strongest and deepest over the past year, with four sub-five 500 free swimmers and three women who have gone under 17 minutes in the mile. To that returning core, Crispino and his staff have added another sub-five swimmer.
Senior Caylyn Tate had a breakthrough season last year, pushing to school records in both the 1000 and 1650 freestyles, and earning a bronze medal leading off the Tribe’s 800 free relay at the conference championships. Her 1:51.87 effort in that race is the second-best time on the Tribe charts entering this year, and she also stands second in the 500 at 4:54.15. In the two longer races, however, she is second to none with a 10:03.24 1000 and an NCAA-qualifying 16:38.27 in the mile that won her the silver medal at the conference meet.
Also back is junior Jen Bentley, who has the best 200 and 500 times on the team. The freshman record-holder in both the 500 and 1000, Bentley has gone 4:53.79 and 16:57.93 for the mile. Senior Meghan Baker held the school record in the mile before Tate broke it last year, and has gone 16:53.22 and 10:12.02 in the 1000. New to the squad this year is Hannah Vester, a two-time prep All-American from Cincinnati, Ohio. Vester has swum 4:59.82 in the 500 and 10:11.86 in the 1000.
Backstroke
Even though CAA Champion and Olympic Trials qualifier Hailey Hewitt ’12 has moved on, the Tribe will still have an incredibly deep backstroke group this year. Sophomore Liz Glenn holds both freshman records in the event after an astonishing conference performance, taking third in the 200 back at 1:58.60 and ninth in the 100 at 55.96. In addition to the individual events, the coaches will be counting on Glenn to step into the lead role on the medley relays this year.
Also back for the backstrokes is senior all-everything Gabrielle Mizerak, who has timed 58.25 in the 100 and led the 200 medley relay last year. Sophomores Katie Thomas and Christa Ann Saunders have both gone sub-59 in the 100 and sub-2:04 in the 200 back, and will be counted on to further improve those times and challenge for finals spots at the conference meet. Freshmen Noelle Klockner and Jessie Ustjanauskas will also contribute heavily in the backstrokes, as both enter with 100 back personal-bests that would already rank in the all-time top-10. Klockner was second in the state in the 200 back and fourth in the 100 back in New Jersey as a senior, and has gone 56.46 and 2:01.05. Ustjanauskas won the Connecticut state title all four years of high school in the 100 back, with a best time of 56.85.
Breaststroke
Returning to lead the breaststroke once again is senior Emily Bart, who became the third-fastest swimmer ever at W&M in both distances last year at the conference meet. She was sixth in the 200 breast and 10th in the 100 at CAAs, and will take aim at Ruth Anne Miller’s ’03 school records in her final campaign. Also back is the sophomore tandem of Liz Collins and Emma Carpenter, who combined to rewrite the freshman records in the event last year. Carpenter went 2:18.53 at the Terrapin invite early in February to reset that rookie mark, and Collins went 1:04.53 at Maryland in November in the 100 breast before continuing on to become an event finalist at CAAs.
The breaststroke corps will also add two instant-impact freshmen this year. Courtney Mizerak (younger sister of Gabrielle) can contribute in a wide range of events, but especially in the 100 breast where her prep best of 1:02.94 is below the W&M school record. She was a four-time Virginia AAA state finalist, and four-time Junior National finalist in the 100 breast, and has also timed 2:17.74 in the 200. Lindsey Winston is another Junior National finalist, this time in the 200 breast where she has gone as fast as 2:19.64.
Butterfly
The fly, along with the IM, will be most impacted by the freshman class and the added depth they’ll provide to the returning veterans. Gabrielle Mizerak has gone 55.49 and 2:04.12 in the 100 and 200 fly, respectively, and will be looked to once again to provide overall leadership on the medley relays. Megan Howard adds the 100 fly to her freestyle repertoire, and has gone as fast at 56.09 in the event.
The impact freshmen for the fly will include the younger Mizerak, with bests of 56.91 and 2:04.85, as well as Jessie Ustjanauskas, who has won Connecticut state titles at both distances with times of 55.70 and 2:03.25. Rachel Cortright was a 2:06.20 YMCA National finalist at Ridgewood High in New Jersey, and Jenny Lomicka has gone as fast as 2:05.60 while qualifying for Junior Nationals out of Virginia.
Individual Medley
Gabrielle Mizerak (2:05.12 for 200) and junior Devin Henry (2:06.95/4:26.59) are the Tribe’s top two returners in the IM events, after Mizerak was 15th in the 200 IM at the CAA Championships last year and Henry was the first alternate for the finals at 400 yards. They’ll be joined by several veteran teammates, as well as three more strong rookies. Courtney Mizerak will be swimming alongside her sister in yet another event, after having gone 2:05.87 for fifth in the 200 IM at the Virginia state championships and 4:29.81 for 400 IM as well. Jenny Lomicka qualified for Junior Nationals in the 400 IM with her time of 4:30.40, but the top freshmen in the IM looks to be Lindsey Winston. A Junior Nationalist in the 200, Winston enters college at or near the top of the W&M depth charts will times of 2:05.55 for 200 and 4:25.63 in the 400.
Sprinters
The sprint freestyles will be led this year by three top-shelf returning talents, in addition to two headlining freshmen and a deep depth chart. Leading the way is a pair of CAA medalists in junior Sara Shaner and sophomore Megan Howard. Shaner swam the anchor leg on both of W&M’s medley relays as well as the third-place 200 free relay at last year’s CAA Championships, and also swam on the 400 free relay to earn a second bronze medal. She has timed 50.95 in the 100 and 23.48 in the 50 free. Howard was also part of both third-place free relays, swimming the lead leg each time, and also took fifth in the open 100 free. Her lead-off of 23.13 on the 200 free relay is the team’s best time this season, and Howard also ranks second in the 100 at 51.14 seconds.
The third top veteran is senior Gabrielle Mizerak, who has timed 24.32 in the 50 and 51.89 in the 100 free. She also took home a pair of bronze medals from the conference meet last spring, on the 400 and 800 free relays. The top two newcomers joining the team for 2012-13 are Noelle Klockner and Jessie Ustjanauskas. Klockner was third in the 50 free in the state of New Jersey last year and a YMCA National finalist, timing 23.96, and has also swum 1:52.28 in the 200 free. Ustjanauskas , while stronger in the backstroke, has still timed 51.80 in the 100 free and qualified for Junior Nationals in the event.
Distance
The distance crew grew into one of the strongest and deepest over the past year, with four sub-five 500 free swimmers and three women who have gone under 17 minutes in the mile. To that returning core, Crispino and his staff have added another sub-five swimmer.
Senior Caylyn Tate had a breakthrough season last year, pushing to school records in both the 1000 and 1650 freestyles, and earning a bronze medal leading off the Tribe’s 800 free relay at the conference championships. Her 1:51.87 effort in that race is the second-best time on the Tribe charts entering this year, and she also stands second in the 500 at 4:54.15. In the two longer races, however, she is second to none with a 10:03.24 1000 and an NCAA-qualifying 16:38.27 in the mile that won her the silver medal at the conference meet.
Also back is junior Jen Bentley, who has the best 200 and 500 times on the team. The freshman record-holder in both the 500 and 1000, Bentley has gone 4:53.79 and 16:57.93 for the mile. Senior Meghan Baker held the school record in the mile before Tate broke it last year, and has gone 16:53.22 and 10:12.02 in the 1000. New to the squad this year is Hannah Vester, a two-time prep All-American from Cincinnati, Ohio. Vester has swum 4:59.82 in the 500 and 10:11.86 in the 1000.
Backstroke
Even though CAA Champion and Olympic Trials qualifier Hailey Hewitt ’12 has moved on, the Tribe will still have an incredibly deep backstroke group this year. Sophomore Liz Glenn holds both freshman records in the event after an astonishing conference performance, taking third in the 200 back at 1:58.60 and ninth in the 100 at 55.96. In addition to the individual events, the coaches will be counting on Glenn to step into the lead role on the medley relays this year.
Also back for the backstrokes is senior all-everything Gabrielle Mizerak, who has timed 58.25 in the 100 and led the 200 medley relay last year. Sophomores Katie Thomas and Christa Ann Saunders have both gone sub-59 in the 100 and sub-2:04 in the 200 back, and will be counted on to further improve those times and challenge for finals spots at the conference meet. Freshmen Noelle Klockner and Jessie Ustjanauskas will also contribute heavily in the backstrokes, as both enter with 100 back personal-bests that would already rank in the all-time top-10. Klockner was second in the state in the 200 back and fourth in the 100 back in New Jersey as a senior, and has gone 56.46 and 2:01.05. Ustjanauskas won the Connecticut state title all four years of high school in the 100 back, with a best time of 56.85.
Breaststroke
Returning to lead the breaststroke once again is senior Emily Bart, who became the third-fastest swimmer ever at W&M in both distances last year at the conference meet. She was sixth in the 200 breast and 10th in the 100 at CAAs, and will take aim at Ruth Anne Miller’s ’03 school records in her final campaign. Also back is the sophomore tandem of Liz Collins and Emma Carpenter, who combined to rewrite the freshman records in the event last year. Carpenter went 2:18.53 at the Terrapin invite early in February to reset that rookie mark, and Collins went 1:04.53 at Maryland in November in the 100 breast before continuing on to become an event finalist at CAAs.
The breaststroke corps will also add two instant-impact freshmen this year. Courtney Mizerak (younger sister of Gabrielle) can contribute in a wide range of events, but especially in the 100 breast where her prep best of 1:02.94 is below the W&M school record. She was a four-time Virginia AAA state finalist, and four-time Junior National finalist in the 100 breast, and has also timed 2:17.74 in the 200. Lindsey Winston is another Junior National finalist, this time in the 200 breast where she has gone as fast as 2:19.64.
Butterfly
The fly, along with the IM, will be most impacted by the freshman class and the added depth they’ll provide to the returning veterans. Gabrielle Mizerak has gone 55.49 and 2:04.12 in the 100 and 200 fly, respectively, and will be looked to once again to provide overall leadership on the medley relays. Megan Howard adds the 100 fly to her freestyle repertoire, and has gone as fast at 56.09 in the event.
The impact freshmen for the fly will include the younger Mizerak, with bests of 56.91 and 2:04.85, as well as Jessie Ustjanauskas, who has won Connecticut state titles at both distances with times of 55.70 and 2:03.25. Rachel Cortright was a 2:06.20 YMCA National finalist at Ridgewood High in New Jersey, and Jenny Lomicka has gone as fast as 2:05.60 while qualifying for Junior Nationals out of Virginia.
Individual Medley
Gabrielle Mizerak (2:05.12 for 200) and junior Devin Henry (2:06.95/4:26.59) are the Tribe’s top two returners in the IM events, after Mizerak was 15th in the 200 IM at the CAA Championships last year and Henry was the first alternate for the finals at 400 yards. They’ll be joined by several veteran teammates, as well as three more strong rookies. Courtney Mizerak will be swimming alongside her sister in yet another event, after having gone 2:05.87 for fifth in the 200 IM at the Virginia state championships and 4:29.81 for 400 IM as well. Jenny Lomicka qualified for Junior Nationals in the 400 IM with her time of 4:30.40, but the top freshmen in the IM looks to be Lindsey Winston. A Junior Nationalist in the 200, Winston enters college at or near the top of the W&M depth charts will times of 2:05.55 for 200 and 4:25.63 in the 400.
