Complete Results

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (10/13/06) – Sophomores Emily Murphy (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Beverly Walker (Marietta, Ga.) each won two individual events and contributed to a relay victory as the Colgate women’s swimming and diving team defeated Syracuse, 133-109, in its season-opener on Friday, Oct. 13, at SU’s Webster Pool. The win marks the first time since the 1977-78 season that the Raiders have beaten their upstate rival in back-to-back years.

“It was a great opener to our season,” senior co-captain Keriann Fitzsimons (Red Hook, N.Y.) said. “We stayed positive throughout the meet, got wins when we needed them, and got the ball rolling for a great season.”

“Everyone got behind each other today,” senior co-captain Leslie Petsoff (Glen Ridge, N.J.) added. “Everyone was cheering for one another, and I think the mutual support we gave each other really contributed to our win.”

Walker’s first win was in the 50 free, which she swam in 24.79. In the next event, Murphy won the 200 IM in 2:08.65. Later in the meet, Walker earned points with a win in the 200 backstroke, turning in a time of 2:08.88. In the final individual event of the day, Murphy took top honors in the 200 breast, beating SU’s Masha Glukhova by 0.29 seconds in a time of 2:24.65.

After the completion of the diving portion of the competition, Colgate entered the swimming schedule behind by 20 points, but the Raiders responded by winning each of the first five swimming events. The comeback started with a win in the 400 medley relay, in which Colgate was nearly two seconds faster than it was in its first meet last season, finishing in 3:56.02, which ranks fourth in school history.

In the next race, freshman Karen Baker (Houston, Texas) earned her first win as a collegian in the 1000 free, beating runner-up Catrina Roth of SU by nearly 46 seconds in 10:57.41. Sophomore Lisa Marchi (Scottsdale, Ariz.) won her only event of the day, the 200 free, to make it three victories in a row for the Raiders, posting a time of 1:55.32.

Freshman Kate Murphy (Williamsburg, Va.) swam a tough double, hitting the water for the 500 free 10 minutes after finishing second in the 200 fly with a time of 2:10.08, good for sixth on Colgate’s all-time performers list. Murphy led SU’s Sarah Manning until the last 25 yards of her 500 free race before falling behind and settling for a time of 5:12.66.

Also making a splash in her collegiate debut was freshman Caitlin Curran (Alpharetta, Ga.). She finished fourth in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:27.86, which places her 10^th on Colgate’s all-time performers list.

Both captains turned in fast times for an early-season meet in their respective events. Fitzsimons finished fourth in the 200 free with a time of 1:58.11, and Petsoff swam the 200 fly in 2:15.10, which was good for fourth place.

Colgate’s home-opener is Saturday, Oct. 21, when it hosts Boston College at noon at Lineberry Natatorium. Admission to all Raider home meets is free.