Preview: Virginia Tech Women

The H2Okie women bring back several key competitors from last year’s ACC and NCAA Championship events. In 2009, the women topped their previous fourth-place finish and totaled 451 points to claim the third-place spot at the ACC Championships. Though they have significant roles to fill with the loss of Sara Smith, Megan Newell and Jordan McHorney, three Honorable Mention All-Americans, H2Okie head coach Ned Skinner believes the returning 21 athletes will provide leadership and help the very talented incoming class reach their full potential and once again be a major threat in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Sprint 

Losing All-American Sara Smith will be a major factor to address in the sprint free events for the H2Okies. Junior Steffi Drechsel, who is coming off fresh second-place ACC finishes in the 400 medley and 400 free relays, and a third-place finish in the 200 free relay, will take on a key leadership role. Captain Kelly deMarrais finished seventh in the 200 free last year and will look to carry over her success to her senior season. Returners Emily Ferguson, Kaleigh Gomes and Morgan Allen will provide additional experience and depth to the sprints units. Freshmen Lindzi Smith, Addie Carne and Sarah Ault will also have opportunities to compete as part of a traditionally strong sprint freestyle group. 

Freestyle

Returners Erika Hajnal, Kelly deMarrais and Jace Howanitz offer experience, speed and power in the 200 freestyles, after earning valuable points at the ACC Championships last season. Hajnal placed second in the 500 free and third in the 1650 free, setting school records in both events. Many returners will look to complement Hajnal in the distance free events, including deMarrais, Sara Shapiro and Alexandra Tomasky. Lauren Ritter, who placed 11th in the 1650 free, also returns for the distance events. Freshmen Addie Carne, Laura Simon and 6’3” Becky Flora will compete in the mid-range freestyle and distance events for the Lady H2Okies in their first years.

Individual Medley  

In the IM events, sophomore Jace Howanitz, who competed at the Olympic Trials one year ago and scored points at last year’s Championships, and Katie Priess are expected to be key leaders. Senior Abby Barney, who also competes in the butterfly, will provide experience and look to be a leader for the young group. Sophomores Paige Ayers and Emily Winland and in-state freshman Meaghan Holloway are also expected to contribute. In the 400 IM, NCAA qualifier and school record-holder, Erika Hajnal, and newcomers Laura Simon and Keri Sink will look to make the relay crew as strong as any in the ACC.

Backstroke

Tri-captains Kelly deMarrais, Sara Shapiro and Sarah Ameen will provide strength in the backstroke events. The combination of deMarrais, who holds a school-record in the 200 back, and Steffi Drechsel, who holds a school-record in the 100 back, will give the team advantageous speed, power and experience. Junior Lauren Haley will offer additional depth after a breakout sophomore season, and freshmen Dana Kalnins and Sarah Ault will also complement the squad in action.

Butterfly

Senior Abby Barney and junior Kaleigh Gomes will anchor a strong butterfly crew, which lost powerful seniors Sara Smith and Megan Newell last year. Sophomore Erika Hajnal and newcomers Katie Steeves, Lindzi Smith and Meaghan Holloway will also look to make a splash in the butterfly.

Breaststroke

Seniors Sarah Losinger and Jessica Earl, who both helped the medley relay teams to second-place finishes at the ACC Championships, return for their final season as leaders of a traditionally strong breaststroke crew. Losinger also posted a seventh-place finish in the 100 breast and a ninth-place finish in the 200 breast at championships. Joining Losinger and Earl will be sophomores Emily Winland, Katie Priess and Paige Ayres, who all improved greatly throughout the course of their freshmen seasons. A duo of newcomers, Keri Sink and Meaghan Holloway, can also provide an immediate spark in the stroke.

Divers

The women’s squad returns five divers for the 2009-10 campaign and welcomes two freshmen. Natalie West, Sarah Milton and Cara Murnan return after all scoring points in last year’s ACC Championships. West took 10th in the one-meter and 12th in the three-meter, leading all H2Okies in those events and earning her first-career points. Milton, who holds the school-record in the three-meter, placed 12th in the platform and 15th in the three-meter and also helped the H2Okie squad by scoring points in all three events at championships. Murnan led the H2Okies in the platform with a fifth-place finish and placed 16th in the three-meter. Julia Bradford and Andrea Sawchuk also return with high expectations from diving coach Ron Piemonte. Sara Mokhtari and Carissa Santora hope to make an impact as new additions to the team. Santora comes in as the New Jersey State High School Champion as well as an AAU National Champion in the three-meter. Mokhtari was an eighth-place finalist at the Spring Senior National Championships in the platform.