Jurusik Sets Two New Records!

On Saturday, Steffanie Jurusik broke her second school record and also established a new meet record at the Roger Ahlman (Macalester) Invite. Her time of 2:14.89 is one of the best in the MIAC this season. Congrats, Steff!

New School Record in the 100 Back!

Congratulations to Steffanie Jurusik (aka Batman) for setting a new team record in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:01.95!

Hour of Power

The St. Kate's swimming team participated in the fourth-annual Ted Mullin "Hour of Power" Relay. This year we decided to join efforts with all the metro teams which ended up combining 5 teams and over 140 athletes.

The event is used to raise money and awareness for cancer research, and is named after Carleton College student-athlete Ted Mullin, who passed away from sarcoma in 2006. The event, which started in the MIAC, is a one-hour all out pool practice. It occurs simultaneous across the country with 127 teams and over 6,200 swimmers participating in the event.

Rick Mullen, Ted's dad, talks to the swimmers about the cause.

Melanie & Steffanie enjoying their relay!

Group shot after leaving it in the pool!

For more information on the Hour of Power please visit Carleton's website.

Happy Halloween!

Fall Break at St. Kate's means Halloween Practice for the swimmers and divers. This is a fun event with the only rules being that you have to come in costume and be able to swim 25 yards or do a dive in the costume. Once again we were provided with lots of laughs as our team used their imaginations to create some outstanding costumes.

Team Halloween Picture

Winning costumes ~ Beach Balls!

Mary Walters and Sarah Vrudny

Winning costumes after diving in for 25 yard swim!

After the costume contest the girls split into teams for a Jeopardy Practice. The pink team (pictured below) of Kaitlyn McClay, Sarah Moody, Bridget Perkins, Alli Witt, Kylah Hitchcock, and Reba Bisciglia came from behind to win the practice. They secured their win with the last team challenge of bobbing for apples in the pool. Good job ladies!

Following such a fun Friday the team headed to Northfield on Saturday to compete in a relay meet with 8 other teams. There were no team scores kept at this meet but Shana and I were still impressed with our team's swims and are excited to begin our regular meets this coming week. Stay tuned for more updates on our season!

24-Hour Swim Completed!!!

This weekend the team took on a 24-hour swim-a-thon and had amazing results. Not only did they raise a lot of money for team travel they also raised over $1,100 for ALS in memory of Patricia Walters.

The team was led in the pool by Sophomores Sarah Vrudny (10.94 miles), Mary Walters (10.8 miles), Bridget Perkins (10.48 miles), and First-Year Melanie Maas (10.41 miles). Each member of the team swam at least 8 miles and total they swam 170.44 miles or 5,624.5 laps! Amazing work for just being 2 weeks into the season.

The above numbers are impressive but more impressive was Sophomore Captain Reba Bisciglia who swam just over 9 miles with three of those being butterfly. She was determined to make the most of her pledges to earn money for ALS and the team. Below is a picture of her swimming fly.

Here are some pictures of the team hanging out:

And some pictures proving that they did get some sleep!

On Saturday morning some of our Alumnae joined us to pump up the energy on the deck and to push the current team to get in more yards. Thanks for joining us!!!

Why aren't these two more motivated before their last 20 minute swim?

Team Picture after the last lap was swum! Great Job Wildcats!!

24-Hour Fundraiser

We will be holding a 24-Hour Swimming & Diving Fundraiser starting Friday, October 16th at 4:00pm. During this time the swimmers will swim 20 minutes straight every 2 hours while our diver will attempt to do as many dives as possible in 1 hour.

Twenty-Five percent of the money raised will be donated to finding a cure for ALS in memory of Patricia Walters. Patricia's daughter is a member of our team and we are hoping that one day no family will have to lose a loved one to ALS.

We would love your support during the event and would appreciate fans stopping by to keep everyone motivated!

Alumnae: Please come in and help push our current team members to get in as many laps as possible. We would like for you to join us from 9:00-11:00am on Saturday, October 17th to push our current team members to get in as many laps as possible. Alums will take turns swimming as relays, only 50 yards at a time, to encourage the current athletes to keep going. Let Nicole know if you'll be able to join her for this event.

If you are interested in pledging a swimmer/diver contact Nicole Hempler at 651-690-8774 or by e-mail at nmhempler@stkate.edu.

Donations can be sent to:
St. Catherine University
Wildcat Swimming & Diving, F-18
2004 Randolph Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105

Swim Season is just around the corner!

Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the last week of summer. I think it went by really fast and now it's almost time for school to start. Things are picking up on campus as we gear up for another swim season. There are a few things that are going on once school starts that are going to be very exciting.

- We have a team meeting on Wednesday September 9th were we will meet everyone and talk about the upcoming season.
- On Saturday September 12th, Reba has put together a car wash fundraiser! We will talk about this at the meeting too.
-Monday September 14th is the all athlete meeting. More details to come later.

Don't forget about getting suits and goggles too. =] If you go to pure blue, mention that you swim for St. Kates and we get a portion of the sale.

Enjoy the end of summer and I can't wait to see everyone on the 9th.
Kelley

CSCAA Academic Awards

The College Swim Coaches Association of American (CSCAA) has announced that senior Jen Lippitt and first-year Sarah Vrudny have been named Honorable Mention Scholar All-Americans for their performances in the pool and the classroom this past spring. Both athletes earned NCAA B standard times in the pool while maintaining a GPA above 3.5.

While Lippitt and Vrudny picked up individual honors, the entire team was also honored for having a cumulative team GPA of 3.34. The Wildcats swimming and diving team was one of seven MIAC women's teams to earn a Scholar All-American Team award.

More information about the CSCAA awards are available here

CSC is Now SCU!

As of June 1, 2009, the College of St. Catherine officially became St. Catherine University. The name is different, but not much else has changed beyond the required signage and new uniforms!

Go SCU Wildcats!

End of the Season Awards

Today our team celebrated this year's successes with our annual banquet. It was great to have everyone back together and to spend time with their families. This was truly one of my favorite years coaching and this is largely due to the wonderful people on the team and their love for the sport.

Team Awards Given

• MIAC Sportsmanship Award: Gina Jagger

• All Conference: Bridget Perkins for 100 Butterfly

• Team Academic Award (those with a Team GPA of 3.5 or Higher) Reba Bisciglia, Rachel Doherty, Elizabeth Fosse, Terese Hill, Jen Lippitt, Lindsey Quale, Sarah Vrudny, and Mary Walters

• Most Improved: Elizabeth Fosse

• Most Inspirational: Mary Walters

• Most Dedicated: Bridget Perkins

• Most Valuable: Sarah Vrudny

Full Team Picture at Green Mill

Wildcat Academic Team (minus Elizabeth & Terese)

Most Valuable: Sarah Vrudny, Most Dedicated: Bridget Perkins
Most Inspirational: Mary Walters, Most Improved: Elizabeth Fosse (not pictured)

Our Graduating Seniors

New Captains for 2009-2010
Rachel Doherty, Reba Bisciglia, and Kelley Holmes

Thanks to all the parents and fans who supported the team this year. We would not have had as great of a year if it weren't for your love and support.

8 New Records!

Every year after the conference meet is when the record board gets its new look and shows off all of the records set throughout the year. Since starting at St. Kate's 7 years ago I've done a lot of work on the Pool Record side but only changed a few on the team side. This year it was definitely a lot more fun risking my life on the mechanical lift to change the 8 team records set a few weeks ago.

Congratulations to Sarah Vrudny, Bridget Perkins, Jen Lippitt, Mary Walters, Elizabeth Fosse, and Ashley Kramka for their amazing swims to set 8 new school records. With 5 of the 6 being first year students I'm looking forward to spending even more time on the lift in years to come.

Fantastic MIAC Moments . . .

We are still pumped from last weekend's MIAC Championship meet . . . many of the girls are thinking about next year (and swimming already!). Here are a few moments that one of our swimmers captured from the weekend. Enjoy!

Grrrrr . . . Wildcats!

Bridget placed 2nd in the 100 fly (by 2 one-hundredths of a second!), with an NCAA "B" cut time and new school record. She was our highest finisher of the meet.


Our "Boot Crew" . . . Amanda, Julie and Katie. For some strange reason, several of our athletes had foot/toe injuries this year?!

Sarah M. competes on 3-meter.

Our 200 Medley Relay en route to smashing another school record.


Coaches en route to losing their voices!

Sarah V. is congratulated on an NCAA "B" cut, as well as new team record in the 200 free.

Reba, en route to dropping 10! seconds in the 200 fly.


MIAC senior recognition . . . Christa, Gina, Jen and Emily (not pictured, Terese).

Jen after swimming an NCAA "B" time in the 200 breast.

Sarah M. on the podium for her highest finish of the meet (4th) on 1-meter.

Last event, last record of the weekend (400 free relay).

Quite the weekend!

The St. Kate's Swimming & Diving Team truly made a mark this past weekend at the MIAC Championships at the U of M. The entire team swam and dove phenomenally, reaching many career bests and creating many reasons to cheer! Here are some of our most notable achievements:

* Eight team records were broken, four individual and four relays.
* Three individuals swam NCAA "B" cuts; Bridget Perkins (100 fly: 58.60), Sarah Vrudny (200 free: 1:55.94) and Jen Lippitt (200 breast: 2:26.72).
* Senior Gina Jagger was recognized as St. Kates' designate of the MIAC Sportsmanship Award.
* 7th year Head Coach Nicole Hempler was recognized as the MIAC Women's Swimming Coach of the Year.

What a fantastic three days of swimming and diving! Stay tuned for some great photos from the meet!

Speedo LZRs are Here!

The team is literally gearing up for the MIAC Championships, with several of our athletes squeezing into the new Speedo LZR suits. Here are a few of them modeling them after practice the other day--it only took about 15 minutes to get into them so that's pretty good!

MIAC Championships . . . Less than a week away!

The team is tapering, fine-tuning and getting excited for next week's MIAC Championship meet at the University of Minnesota! The meet is three days long, and runs Thursday through Saturday with prelims in the morning and finals in the evening. Go Wildcats!

Here is the event order:
Thursday, Feb. 19th
Prelims 10:30am
Women's 3-Meter/Men's 1-Meter Diving (concurrently with swimming events)
Women's/Men's 500 Free
Women's/Men's 200 IM
Women's/Men's 50 Free

Thursday, Feb. 19th
Finals 6:30pm
Men's 1-Meter Diving
Women's/Men's 200 Free Relay
Women's/Men's 500 Free
Women's/Men's 200 IM
Women's/Men's 50 Free
20-minute break
Women's/Men's 400 Medley Relay

Friday, Feb. 20th
Prelims 10:30am
Women's 3-Meter Diving (concurrently with swimming events)
Women's/Men's 400 IM
Women's/Men's 100 Fly
Women's/Men's 200 Free
Women's/Men's 100 Breast
Women's/Men's 100 Back

Friday, Feb. 20th
Finals 6:30pm
Women's 3-Meter Diving
Women's/Men's 200 Medley Relay
Women's/Men's 400 IM
Women's/Men's 100 Fly
Women's/Men's 200 Free
Women's/Men's 100 Breast
Women's/Men's 100 Back
20-minute break
Women's/Men's 800 Free Relay

Saturday, Feb. 21st
Prelims 10:30am
Women's 1-Meter/Men's 3-Meter Diving (concurrently with swimming events)
Women's/Men's 200 Back
Women's/Men's 100 Free
Women's/Men's 200 Breast
Women's/Men's 200 Fly
Women's 1-Meter/Men's 3-Meter Diving (will begin at 3:45pm)
Women's/Men's 1650 Free (beginning in the afternoon, and completed by 5pm)

Saturday, Feb. 21st
Finals 6:30pm
Men's 1-Meter Diving (concurrently with first two heats of 1650 Free)
Women's/Men's 1650 Free (final heat only)
Women's/Men's 200 Back
Women's/Men's 100 Free
Women's/Men's 200 Breast
Women's/Men's 200 Fly
Women's 1-Meter Diving
Women's/Men's 400 Free Relay

For more meet information, including ticket sales, visit the official MIAC website.

St. Kate's Invite and Senior Night!

This was a great weekend for the St. Kate's Swimming and Diving team! Friday, St. Kate's hosted our senior night. People took turns speaking about each of the seniors. As a senior myself, I was really grateful for the kind words the girls spoke. We all went on to have really solid swims for the rest of the weekend. It was a long weekend but everyone was having so much fun. There were about 18 season bests and 4 career bests. We are now entering our last week of break before we start taper. Everyone is looking really good in the water and the attitudes are still great! I am looking forward to see what the rest of the season brings. This weekend we have the MAC Invite. Good luck ladies!!

Skating to pass the time!

Swimming is not the only thing us swimmers do at St. Kates! Occasionally we trade in our suits for some skates and hit the ice for some winter fun. A couple of the girls went on a little skating adventure at our local skating rink and had a blast. Now that the temperature is warm enough to be outside for more than five minutes, it was nice to get outside and enjoy the weather. There were no spills or falls so everyone had a great time. This is something, I think, we will do more often.

Training Trip-Florida 2009

Happy New Year!! The team just got back from our training trip to the Florida Keys. It was a blast. This was one of the best years for the training trip. We had great weather, the place we stayed at was great and the pool was amazing for training. It was a lot of work, but we mixed in a little fun in there. While we were down there we had the opportunity to go snorkeling which was very fun. Some girls saw sting rays and barracudas! There was a nice team dinner and we spent a lot of time at the pool and beach tanning which was wonderful. Also, some girls had the opportunity to go to the Everglades to an Alligator Farm. This was my personal favorite because we got to watch the alligators feed, go on a fan boat in the Everglades and we got to hold snakes! Overall it was a great trip. For the next month we will be training really hard back in the frozen tundra to get ready for the MIAC Championships. Thank you to all the girls for their great attitudes and work ethic!