Oct. 4, 1999
The 1998-1999 season was a memorable one for the Villanova women, as a team and for a number of individual performers. The Wildcats finished second at the Big East Championships, closing the gap between them and Notre Dame considerably. The 'Cats garnered five individual Big East Championships and two conference relay titles. Four Villanova swimmers qualified for the NCAA Championships in 1999 and one, freshman Maddy Crippen, took home a National Championship in the 400 yard individual medley. All in all, one of the finest seasons ever in Villanova women's swimming history.
"The women's team made significant steps forward last year," said head coach Ed Bartsch. "We had more depth and had more people score at the Big East than ever before. We also set a number of Big East records. Also very important is the fact that we had a better dual meet record than ever before. We had an equally good dual meet season, as we did a championship season."
Last year, Maddy Crippen came into Villanova with a great deal of hype surrounding her. Crippen proved as good as her reputation. She won three individual and one relay title at the Big East Championships, and was named the Big East Most Outstanding Female Swimmer. Crippen was dominant on the national scene as well, becoming only the second Wildcat female ever to win a NCAA title. She finished first in the 400 yard individual medley at the NCAA Championships and also placed third in the 200 yard breaststroke and fifth in the 500 yard freestyle. Two weeks after her triumph at NCAA's, Crippen headed to the Phillips 66 Spring National Championships and came away with a title in the 200 yard breaststroke. Trying to reach the next step, the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, she will redshirt her sophomore season and take a lighter class load to increase her training with hopes of becoming Villanova swimming's first United States Olympian.
"How do you talk about the season that Maddy had," said Bartsch. "She had an sensational freshman year. We will dearly miss her as she sits out her redshirt year. Maddy helped us in more ways than just being a great swimmer. She helped everyone see how much work it takes to be a great swimmer. Her work ethic is unparalleled by anyone in the country."
Despite the loss of Crippen and several outstanding seniors in Jackie Gruters, Elizabeth Lauwaert, and Kristin Stretanski, the Wildcats will still be very strong coming into the next century. The one difference between the 1999-2000 season and past years are the team's strengths and weaknesses.
"There are three things you can't replace- Maddy, Jackie and Liz," said Bartsch. "They were Big East Champions, school record holders, and important relay swimmers. We have very good swimmers in other events, but we might not necessarily have the swimmers to replace them in their events. Our strengths this year will be our depth and our distance events."
The Wildcat distance team will be led by juniors Katie Armitage, and Kate Volz, and freshman Andie Scelsi in 1999-2000. Armitage and Volz were NCAA qualifiers one season ago, and will attempt to repeat their feats this year. Scelsi was a member of Team USA in the 25K and will compete in the Pre-World Championships in November 1999. Following closely behind are senior Keri Thorne and sophomore Christy Welch.
In the breaststroke events, head coach Ed Bartsch has brought in a number of solid freshmen to help out sophomore Brooke Corby. Rookies Deann Fryberger, Kathy Ritter and Colleen Malloy will be expected to come in and contribute immediately to add depth in the breaststroke.
The butterfly will display a combination of youth and experience. Freshman Katie Daugherty will team with junior Danielle Macejka and sophomore Valerie Meplier to lead the Wildcats in the fly. Macejka placed eighth in the 100 yard butterfly at the Big East Championships in 1999, while Mespier finished eight in the 200 fly.
Villanova will not have the depth that they've had in the past in the sprint freestyle and the backstroke events, so the 'Cats will turn to a few big names for support. Junior Kristen Olson, a six-time Big East Champion, will look to add a few more titles to her resume in the 50, 100 and 200 yard freestyle, while senior co-captain Tara Brock will look to win her second career conference title in the 100 yard freestyle. A conference title holder in the 100 yard backstroke two years ago, senior co-captain Julie Lapinsky will attempt to regain the championship in 2000.
With Crippen's absence, Armitage becomes the Wildcats top gun in the individual medley events. Sophomore Bethany Lavigno, a Big East finalist, along with Welch, Corby and Malloy will look to make their move into the finals in the 400 IM this season.
Despite a number of losses to the Villanova relay teams from last season, the 'Cats should still be potent in the relay events. The medley relay team will be comprised of Lapinsky, Fryberger, Olson and either Macejka or Mesplier. In the freestyle relay, Brock, Olson, Lavigno and freshman Katie Long will team up, with either Armitage or Mesplier taking Longo's spot in the 800.
On the diving board, Tibby Fogarty will be missed as the 'Cats lost her to graduation after last season. Fogarty currently holds a number of Villanova diving records. Looking to make up for her loss are freshmen Anne Lindsey and Christina Rubino.
"This will be our strongest women's swim team from top to bottom that we've ever had," said Bartsch. "We will challenge Notre Dame and Miami for the championship, although the Irish have been head and shoulders above everybody in the past. We have replaced the points we lost with bottom end strength. This team will score more points from the 10-17 swimmers than we ever had, but it will be hard to replace Maddy, Liz and Jackie."
The Villanova women's swimming and diving team will look to make the transition into the next century a smooth one. The 'Cats will do this with a solid distance team and a great deal of depth throughout the roster. With a cast that includes a number of experienced and decorated veterans and a freshmen class of eight, Villanova will compete for the Big East title in 2000.
