Piscataway, NJ- The Wagner College women's swimming team competed in the Sonny Werblin Invitational last weekend at Rutgers University. First-year head coach Mark Sowa feels that this individual meet was a good opportunity to get a feel for the competition. 

Senior Lindsey Rodgers (Anaheim Hills, CA/ Canyon) led the Seahawks with a ninth-place finish in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 25.21, a 14th-place finish in the 110 yard freestyle with a time of 56.70 and a 16th-place finish in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 1:02.24. Freshman Lauren French (Colmar, PA/ North Penn) recorded in an 11th-place finish in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 25.51 and a sixth-place finish in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 55.33. 

Junior Jessica Hart (Summerfield, NC/ Northwest) also had an impressive day, finishing 15th in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 25.68 and a ninth-place finish in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 1:00.91. Freshman Chelsea Beck (Reading, PA/ Wilson) earned a 12th-place finish in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 56.11 while teammate Rebecca Hannings (Lansdale, PA/ North Penn) placed 16th with a time of 56.77. 

In the 200 yard backstroke, senior Alexandra Tomlinson (Telford, PA/ Souderton) had a 12th-place finish with a time of 2:16.82 while teammate Breanne Sweeny (Staten Island, NY/ Notre Dame Academy) finished behind her with a time of 2:17.56. Freshman Jakki Guenther (South Hadley, MA/ South Hadley) followed close behind her two teammates with a 15th-place finish with a time of 2:18.36. Sophomore Bethany Brown (Enfield, CT/ Ennco Fermi) showed her strength in the 100 yard butterfly with a 13th-place finish and a time of 1:12.03 while teammate Kelsey Rodgers (Anaheim Hills, CA/ Canyon) finished 16th with a time of 1:12.52. 

As for the relays, Wagner placed seventh in the 200 yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:41.91. The Seahawks also registered seventh (1:55.63), 11th (1:57.80) and 15th (2:01.43) place finishes in the 200 yard medley relay. Wagner also placed ninth (4:14.06), 11th (4:14.28) and 14th (4:20.58) in the 400 yard medley relay. 

"It was important for us to get in and race this weekend to blow out some of the cobwebs and to practice competing,” said Sowa. “There were moments in all of our races where we showed signs of what we want to become. However, we have a lot of work to do and plenty of challenges ahead. The good thing is, these athletes are competitive as evident in their relay performances and our upperclassmen realize that we need to continue to work and improve on skills if we wish to get better as a group. Overall, I like what I see and am excited to build off this experience." 

The Seahawks return to action on Sunday October, 19 when they travel to Durham, NH to face the University of New Hampshire. 

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