Coaches, SIDs See Fourth-Place Finish for Gophers
MADISON, N.J. — Goucher is picked to finish in fourth place behind Scranton, Susquehanna and Catholic at the 2010 Landmark Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Championships in a preseason poll conducted by the conference, the results of which were released today.
Goucher Launches 2009-10 Season Saturday Against Susquehanna
MADISON, N.J. — Goucher is picked to finish in fourth place
behind Scranton, Susquehanna and Catholic at the 2010 Landmark
Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Championships in a
preseason poll conducted by the conference, the results of which
were released today.
The head women's swimming coaches and sports information directors at each institution that sponsors the sport were authorized to participate in the poll.
Scranton, which claimed the inaugural Landmark title in 2008 and successfully defended its crown in 2009, holds the top spot in the poll by a sizeable margin. The Royals collected a total of 60 points.
The voting was much tighter for the second and third positions in the poll as Susquehanna garnered 50 points, four ahead of Catholic. Goucher earned 35 points, good for fourth in the poll.
"I feel fourth place in a very conservative estimate of the potential of this year's team," commented Thomas Till, head coach of Goucher's swimming programs. "Competing in the Landmark Conference is a challenge we are excited about and look forward to, and we're hoping to represent Goucher well at the championship meet in February."
Among the swimmers who return for Goucher in 2009-10 is Britt Hogstrom (Killington, Vt./Woodstock Union), the reigning Landmark champion in three events. At last year's conference meet, she defended her 2008 titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, plus she also touched first in the 200 free and was selected the Landmark Conference Co-Female Swimmer of the Year along with Scranton's Erin O'Connor.
The rest of the poll, along with the number of points for each school: 5. Drew, 27; 6. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 19, and 7. Juniata, 15.
Goucher's men's team was picked to finish in fifth place in a separate poll conducted by the Landmark Conference.
The Gophers open their 2009-10 campaign on Saturday against Susquehanna in the first of only three home meets on the schedule.