GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Ursinus College women's swimming team is sending another caravan down to the NCAA championships.
For the second year in a row, six student-athletes will represent the Bears on the national stage as they make their way to Greensboro, North Carolina to compete for personal and program glory. Seniors Clara Baker and Peyten Lyons will polish off their illustrious careers with one last ride against the best of the best, and the duo will be accompanied by junior Haley Sturla, sophomore Sophie May, and freshmen Sophie Lear and Katie Schultz. The meet begins Wednesday, March 20 and runs through Saturday, March 23.
The six-woman contingent matches last season's for the largest in school history, and Ursinus took it even further this time around by having all five relays invited to the national meet. Combined with the potential for an individual national champion and several other finals contenders, the Bears are looking at what could go down as the most successful NCAA finish in the history of the program.
Baker is already the most decorated swimmer Ursinus has even seen, racking up seven All-America certificates. She has never medaled at the NCAA meet, but that could all change when she hits the water at the Greensboro Aquatic Center for the 100 fly. Baker, who placed 13th in the event a year ago, holds the second-fastest time in all of Division III in the event, with her 54.58 trailing only the inaptly named Caroline Apathy of Bates by .04 seconds. The Centennial Conference champion in both the 100 fly and 200 fly, Baker is also seeded 22nd in the 200 fly (2:04.75) and 49th in the 50 free (23.89).
Baker is one of three Bears set to compete in the 50 free, a list that also includes Lear and May. The Most Outstanding Performer and Most Outstanding Rookie Performer at the conference championship, Lear collected gold medals in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 breast at the CC meet. The rookie revelation is seeded 16th in the 50 free (23.45), 30th in the 100 breast (1:05.03), and 39th in the 100 free (51.84).
May, who won CC gold in the 200 free and was a member of three All-American relays at last year's NCAA championship, is seeded 38th in that event at nationals. She is 35th on the psych sheet in the 100 free (51.72).
Lyons is gunning for her first individual All-America laurel and has a legitimate shot at it in the 100 back, where her gold-medal time of 56.28 from the conference meet is good for 13th on the psych sheet. The senior is also pegged 29th in the 200 back (2:04.56), and 30th in the 200 IM (2:06.76).
Schultz joins Lear to give head coach Mark Feinberg a pair of rookie national qualifiers for the first time ever at Ursinus. She is seeded just outside All-American range in 19th in the 1650 free (17:10.54), 26th in the 400 IM (4:31.20), and 30th in the 500 free (5:01.41). Schultz was the CC gold medalist in the 400 IM.
A year ago, the Bears qualified a relay for the first time. They've taken it up a notch in 2019, securing three that are seeded among the top-12 – in All-American range – after breaking conference records in all five at the CC championship.
Ursinus' highest projected unit is the 400 medley relay squad, which features Lyons, Sturla, Baker, and Lear. Lyons and Baker were part of the quartet that placed 16th last season, and this particular grouping is seeded 8th at 3:47.61. Should they finish in the top-8, the Bears would grab their first-ever first team All-American relay.
Lyons, Baker, Lear, and May make up both the 200 medley relay (1:43.99) and 200 free relay (1:34.81), each of which is seeded 12th on the psych sheet. Baker, May, and Lyons were all members of the foursome that finished 13th in the 200 medley relay a year ago. The group is also seeded 20th in the 400 free relay (3:28.61).