Utica, NY – The Utica College women's swim & dive team is set for a busy weekend following a three-week break, hosting Hamilton in a dual meet Friday night before heading to Rochester for the Roberts Wesleyan Invitational against Wells and the Roberts Wesleyan the following day.

Returning Crew: Eight swimmers are returning from last season, including four sophomores and four seniors. The senior class includes Emily Czerwonka (Souderton, PA/Souderton Area), Daniela Hannah (Dalton, GA/Northwest Whitfield), Courtney Kennedy (Smithtown, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) and Rebecca Merrill (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford). The sophomore class showcases Emma Blenis (Norwich, NY/Norwich), Emma Ormsby (Potsdam, NY/Potsdam), Kira Seaman (Fort Edward, NY/Hudson Falls) and Kelly Waryncia (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa).

New Faces: The women's team will be adding five new swimmers to this year's roster. The incoming freshman class includes Kate Anderson (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook), Jasmine Bigdoski (Irondequoit, NY/Eastridge), Mackenzie Farina (Amsterdam/Amsterdam) and Sara Kuiken (Valley Falls, NY/Tamarack). The Pioneers also added one transfer in sophomore Katie Delgado (Greene, NY/Broome CCC), who spent her freshman year at Broome County Community College.

Last Time Out: The Utica College women's swim & dive team topped Cazenovia (156-69) and SUNY Cobleskill (120-107) on Saturday in the Hartwick Quad meet, but fell to Hartwick (218-42) and Saint Rose (207-51). The Pioneers started the day strong, as Kuiken, Seaman, Merrill and Delgado finished the 200 yard medley relay in fifth place overall with a time of 2:10.71. Ormsby, Blenis, Waryncia and Hannah also posted a sixth place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:03.27. Delgado notched the best individual finish on the day, placing fourth overall in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 27.87. Merrill was also very consistent all day for the Pioneers, finishing in sixth place in both the 200 yard butterfly and 200 yard backstroke with times of 2:35.99 and 2:39.22, respectively. Hannah added a sixth-place finish in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 6:19.19, and she also added seventh-place finishes in both the 1000 and 200 yard freestyle.

History with Hamilton: UC women's swim & dive is currently 0-2 against the Continentals in program history, but competed neck-and neck with them last season. Merrill swam a first-place time of 1:11.70 on her way to scoring nine team points for Utica in the 100-yard backstroke. In the 100-yard freestyle event, Flint placed first, swimming a time of 1:05.30. Hannah won the 100-yard breaststroke race in 1:19.08. This was not enough for a victory, however, as the Pioneers fell by a score of 100-66

Strong Advantage: The women's team has a 16-1 all time record against its opponents in Saturday's meet. UC is 2-0 against Roberts Wesleyan and has won all but one of the 15 contests against Wells.
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers return home next Saturday to host Skidmore College in a dual meet.