Utica, NY -- The Utica College men's and women's swim & dive teams open their season at the Hartwick College Quad Meet on Saturday. The diving competition begins at 9 a.m., while the swim meet is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Moyer Pool.
 
Season Opener: This will be the fourth straight year UC has competed in the Hartwick College Quad competition. Utica will compete against host Hartwick, the College of Saint Rose, and Cazenovia College throughout the competition.
 
The Pioneers: The men's team is returning nine swimmers from last year and are welcoming five freshman to the team. The incoming swimmers will look to fill the shoes of UC graduates Kaleb Bright and Raphael Warnon. The women are returning 14 swimmers and are adding six freshmen to the roster. This infusion of young athletes could potentially build the foundation for the women over the next few years after only graduating Jessica Schumann (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) last season.
           
Last Year's Performance:  Last year at the Hartwick College Quad meet, junior Grace Gallentine (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes) finished sixth in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle for the women's team. Her teammate, Alyson Baribault (Plantsville, CT/Southington), came in seventh place in the 100-yard breaststroke. Both are returning for this season and look to improve on their marks from last season. The best finish was fourth place during the 200-yard medley relay. The four returners apart of that relay were Emily Medley (Watertown, NY/Watertown), Lara McNamara (Yonkers, NY/Maria Regina), Alyson Baribault (Plantsville, CT/Southington), and Grace Gallentine (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes).
 
The men's team was able to defeat Cazenovia College at the Hartwick Quad meet last season. Two returners were apart of the 200-yard medley relay that finished fifth at last years meet, sophomore Tim Tellekamp and senior Chris Deyette. Chris Halsey was able finish in sixth place individually in the 1,000-yard freestyle event for his best finish at the meet. Tim Tellekamp recorded a time of 24.88 in the 100-yard freestyle event for a fifth place finish in the event. Senior Sam Bensin made his top individual finish of the day in the 100-yard butterfly, coming in seventh place.
 
Key Performer: The Pioneers return Phoebe King (New Bedford, MA/GNB Voc Tech), who was named to the Empire 8 All-Conference team last season. King holds three individual school records in the 50-yard freestyle (25.18), 100-yard freestyle (54.71), and 200-yard freestyle (1:58.63). She was also involved in the 200-yard freestyle relay record (1:44.07), 800-yard freestyle relay record (8:17.84), and the 200-yard medley relay record (1:54.46). Last year at Hartwick, King placed third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 56.35.

Men's Newcomers: The men's team is welcoming five new faces this season as freshmen. These new names include John Blashke, Derek Hamilton, Keihn Lee, Matt Patton and Riley Theleman. The team will be looking for contributions from the incoming freshmen after graduating Kaleb Bright and Raphael Warnon last year. Matt Patton will be the only diver on the team this season.

Women's Newcomers: For the women's team they will have six new faces on the roster this year. The freshmen joining the squad this season are Daniela Hannah (Dalton, GA/Northwest Whitfield), Julia Lamb (Mexico, NY/Mexico), Saorise Lee (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester), Rebecca Merrill (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford), Victoria Ndreu, and Tori Zurn (Conklin, NY/Susquehanna Valley). The team only graduated one senior last year, Jessica Schumann (Nashua, NH/Nashua South). 

Top Men's Returners: Tim Tellekamp and Chris Halsey both have returned for another season with the Pioneers. Now a sophomore, Tim Tellekamp recorded multiple first place finishes individually last year. He was also part of the men's medley relay team that broke the school record with a time of 1:38.39. Junior Chris Halsey finished in first place a total of seven times last season in multiple events. Coming into the new year, he looks to do more of the same.  

Looking Ahead: On October 29^th both the men and women will be in action once again. The women will be facing both SUNY Delhi and William Smith while the men matchup with just SUNY Delhi. That meet will be on the road, hosted by William Smith, with a start time of 1 p.m.