LANCASTER, Pa. – They did it again.
For the fourth time in as many years, the Ursinus College women's swimming team is the Centennial Conference champion after another thoroughly dominating performance over the three-day meet at Franklin & Marshall. The Bears added three more gold medals to their prolific count and ran away with their fourth straight conference crown, outpacing second-place Gettysburg by 278 points for the largest margin of victory at the championship meet in nearly a decade.
When the water settled on the last event inside the Kunkel Aquatic Center, Ursinus had racked up 815 team points, far outpacing the Bullets' 537. Swarthmore (524) finished third, followed by Washington College (409), F&M (405), Dickinson (368), McDaniel (333), and Bryn Mawr (148).
With their fourth straight title, Ursinus moved into second all-time among CC programs, behind only Gettysburg's 14. The result was never really in doubt thanks to a comprehensive effort that featured ten gold medals, including first-place showings in all five relay events. Three more golds and a school record highlighted the final day of competition.
Sophomore Kathryn Longenecker edged a three-year program record in the 1650 free, placing seventh overall in 17:53.44. Freshman Haley Sturla was right behind with a 17:54.04, which was also well ahead of the previous benchmark.
Bidding for her second straight gold medal in the 200 back, Lyons came up just short when Dickinson's Katie Schmidt touched the wall in 2:02.83, but she earned a nice consolation prize by taking down her own program record with a 2:03.26. Sophomore Katherine Madden placed seventh in 2:09.91.
Junior Sydney Gundersen captured her first 100 free gold with a clocking of 52.55 to narrowly defeat Washington College's Jenni Clune (52.69). Gundersen is the third Ursinus swimmer to win the event at the CC meet, and the second in as many years following Micaela Lyons' title in 2016. Senior Alexandra Hemp (54.64) finished eighth, and senior Marisa Ferrari (55.31) was 15th in the final race of her collegiate career.
Tierney fell just short of her third straight CC gold in the 200 breast, as Swarthmore's Liz Staton turned in a 2:23.09 to nip Tierney's 2:23.23. Sturla garnered bronze with a time of 2:24.61, and sophomore Caroline Powell rounded out the top 16 with a 2:31.81.
After giving sophomore Clara Baker's program record in the 200 fly a serious run with a 2:03.72 in prelims, junior Meggie Leitz defended her gold medal in the event after a 2:03.82 in the night session. Leitz is the only swimmer in program history to win CC gold in the 200 fly.
Baker earned the silver with a 2:05.54 that, like Leitz' mark, qualified as an NCAA B cut, and junior Katherine Porter made it a clean podium sweep for the Bears by finishing third in 2:09.99. Sophomore Gabriella Timuscuk (2:12.35) was fifth for Ursinus.
The championship ended fittingly, with another gold medal. Lyons, Baker, Leitz, and Gundersen clocked a 3:31.86 in the 400 free relay, closing more than three seconds ahead of Washington College's runner-up unit to put a bow on another hard-earned crown. The Bears have won the event five years running, with Gundersen a part of the last three and Baker the last two.
