Lewiston, N.Y. (November 12, 2006)?Manhattan Women's Swimming had been in this predicament before, and it showed. For the second consecutive meet, the Lady Jaspers needed a victory in the 200 Freestyle Relay to tip the meet's end result in their favor, and once again they delivered, this time with their fastest time of the season.
Anchor Maura McGowan touched in for first place (1:44.77)in the quad meet's final event. McGowan swam the fastest split of any Lady Jasper this season at 25.69s to help turn a four-point deficit to Canisius College into a 109-106 victory over the conference opponent.
Regardless of the relay outcome, Manhattan had already accumulated enough points to defeat Saint Peter's College, who fell by to the Lady Jaspers by a final tally of 127-69. Manhattan earned the two wins despite having to overcome a 22-point deficit to Canisius and a 13-point Saint Peter's advantage which were a result of the Lady Jaspers' lack of a diving program.
Meet host Niagara University, however, spoiled what would have been an ideal weekend for Manhattan by overpowering the Lady Jaspers, 133-72.
“Coaches talk about ?team efforts' from time to time, and today I saw a tremendous one from these young ladies,” said head coach Walter Olsewski. “These student-athletes deserve a great deal of credit for being able to display superior intelligence in the classroom and also have a firm grasp on what needs to be done to succeed in the pool as well.”
Once again, Megan O'Keefe was a major part of the “team effort.” O'Keefe racked up points by capturing the top spot in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 1:01.67 and claiming second place in the 200 Freestyle (2:02.85) behind only Niagara's Hope Wiles.
Last week it was Sacred Heart University that fell victim to McGowan and the 200 Freestyle Relay squad. Manhattan, who now stands at 9-2 overall (8-1 vs. Division I programs) and 3-1 against MAAC opponents, tipped the final result in its favor by beating out the Pioneers in the event thanks to Kellie Monaco's ability to step in at the last minute for an injured Megan Goldrick.
Goldrick returned to the pool this weekend; in addition to swimming the third leg of the winning relay, the freshman sprinter claimed third place in the 50 Freestyle (26.44s).
Aiming to become one of the fastest teams in program history to reach the double-digit win plateau, Manhattan takes on Hunter College at home this Friday, November 17 at 6:30 p.m.
