Loretto, Pa. - Under new leadership in head coach
Phil Hurley, the Red Flash swimming team of Saint Francis University is looking forward to kicking off their 2019-2020 season on Senior Day. After coming off an impressive third place finish at the NEC Championships last season, the team is looking to have another successful winning season with the start here in their own pool against Liberty, this Saturday October 5 at 11 a.m. Saint Francis was picked fourth in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, respectively.
Quote from Phil Hurley- Here is what head coach Hurley had to say, "We are looking forward to our meet this Saturday with Liberty University. It will be a great initial test for our swimmers this season. It will also be an opportunity to recognize our eight seniors during their final home meet. It should be a great way to kick off what I believe will be a very successful year!"
Overview- Eight seniors will be recognized Saturday morning on Senior Day for their past four years here at Saint Francis University. This strong group of eight includes
Meghan Albertelli (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop),
Emily Anderson (Middlesburg Heights, Ohio/Berea-Midpark),
Sabrina Bowman (Vandergrift, Pa./Saint Joseph's),
Emily Graziano (Jeannette, Pa./Penn Trafford),
Teresa Narduzzi (West Orange, N.J./West Orange),
Erin O'Neill (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn),
Karilyn Quon (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol), and
Kristen Toth (Silver Spring, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti). These seniors have put together an impressive resume with some top-10 performer nods, a few NEC individual championships, many Swimmer of the Week awards, and all recognized as American Scholar and All-American team members. This group is sure to be remembered.
Other returners this season include juniors
Katelyn O'Connor (Torrance, Calif./South High) (Breaststroke/Freestyle) and
Jessica Rupp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) (Backstroke/Butterfly), whop ut up some impressive times to help the Flash complete a successful 2018-2019 season in the pool.
There are as well some returning sophomores in
Annabelle McCullough (Mercersburg, PA./James Buchanan High School) (Butterfly/Freestyle) and
Chloe Clemens (Chesterfield, Va./Cosby High School) (Backstroke/Butterfly/Freestyle) anxiously awaiting another season's start in the pool here at Saint Francis.
The Red Flash will have some good competition this season, all starting with the tough swimmers from Liberty University Saturday morning in their first and only home meet of the season.
Here's what Senior Erin O'Neill (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) has to say about the start of the season- "I would just say we are looking forward to a great season under our new coach, Phil. With our meet this weekend, Liberty will be very tough competitors but we are excited to be celebrating the seniors and going out and just seeing where we are at. It is very early in the season so we have a lot of work to do before NEC's, but this will be a good opportunity to see where we may need to change some things up or what we are doing right. We brought in a lot of freshmen this year so we are looking forward to getting our first meet under our belts so that we can really mesh as a team."
Saint Francis looks to the start of the 2019-2020 swimming season this Saturday at 11 a.m. against Liberty, here in the Stokes Natatorium. Come support your Seniors on Senior Day and cheer on the rest of the Red Flash squad.
