OFF THE BLOCKS:  The Colgate women's swimming and diving team opens its 2009-2010 season with a stern test as it travels to University Park, Pa. to take on Penn State and West Virginia in a tri-meet at McCoy Natatorium.  The meet gets underway at 1 p.m.  The Raiders head to the season opener following a 10-0 dual meet mark last season and their second consecutive Patriot League title.  Colgate finished the season ranked fourth in the mid-major poll by CollegeSwimming.com.  The Raiders have won 16 consecutive dual meets.  Colgate's last set back came on November 3, 2007 as Navy prevailed over Colgate 150-87 in a double dual in Bethlehem, Pa. 

SCHEDULED EVENTS: 400 Medley Relay, 1650 Free, 200 Free, 50 Free, 400 IM, one-meter diving, 200 Fly, 100 Free, 200 Back, 500 Back, three-meter diving, 200 breast, 400 Free Relay

 MEET THE COACH: Stephen Jungbluth, the 2009 Patriot League Coach of the Year, enters his seventh season at the helm of the women's program at Colgate.  The 1994 graduate of UMass came to Colgate in 2003 after serving three years as an assistant at Navy.  During his stint with the Raiders, he has won back-to-back Patriot League titles and has collected a 51-23 dual meet record with the women.

JUNGBLUTH ON UPCOMING MEET: “This is a good chance to see how we stack up against a top 20 national caliber team in Penn State.  WVU is a very good team as well. We haven't had a chance to do this before at Colgate.  One of the reasons I wanted to schedule a meet like this is to give our superstars a chance to go up against some of the nation's best.  We have a few that have a chance to qualify for NCAAs and this would give them a good measuring stick to see how they stack up against good competition.  Secondly, I'm interested to see how our freshman class responds since you never know what to expect until they compete.”

 OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Caitlin Curran and Kim Siembeida will serve as co-captains for the 2009-2010 season.

LAST TIME OUT: Colgate won its second consecutive Patriot League title by lapping the field in the three-day event at Kinney Natatorium on the campus of Bucknell.  The Raiders captured firsts in 14 of 18 swimming events; collected 862 points and won the title by 102.5 points over Navy. The point total was the second highest ever in the three-day event. In all, Colgate achieved school records in every swimming event; broke 14 league and meet records, and erased 11 pool records.

 PICKED FIRST IN PRESEASON POLL: Colgate received 14 of 16 first place votes en route to being named as the pre-season favorite in the Patriot League.  The Raiders amassed  98 points, while Navy was second with 86.

 WHAT'S BACK:  Last year, Colgate dominated the all-league teams having 13 student-athletes named to either the first or second team.  Nine of these 13 return for 2009-2010, including five first teamers and two individual league title winners.  Juniors Caren Guyett (400 IM and 200 fly) and Erin McGraw (100 fly and 200 back) headline the returnees.  Joining the tandem as returning first team honorees include Emily Kelly, Erica Derlath, and Caitlin Curran.  Colgate's four second team honorees – Emily Peck, Courtney Callahan, Jenna Daly and Sarah Button also return. 

 WHAT LEFT: Four important cogs to the Patriot League title team have graduated.  Emily Murphy, Ashley Bottger, Lisa Marchi, and Bev Walker were all first team all-league performers.  Murphy became the first-ever swimmer in school history to qualify for the NCAA Division I Championships and competed in the 100 breast.  As a senior, she claimed league titles in the 100 and 200 breast events.  Bottger was the league champion in the 100 free, while Walker copped the 200 back.  Marchi had a few top five finishes to gain first team accolades by points.

 THE COMPETITION IN BRIEF:

 Penn State:  The Nittany Lions are off to a 1-0 start after a 174-60 victory over St. Bonaventure.  PSU won 12 of 13 events and claimed the top three spots in five events.  The Lions, 7-1-1 in dual meet records last year, finished third at the Big 10 Championships.

 West Virginia:  The Mountaineers are also off to a 1-0 start thanks in part to a 126-105 victory over in-state rival Marshall.  WVU, which finished fifth in the Big East last season, posted a 4-10 mark.