Red Flash Swimmers Earn All-Conference Honors

LORETTO, Pa. (Feb. 17. 2009) – Saint Francis University swimmer Jessica Dunn (Bristow, Va./Seton School) has been named to the 2009-All Northeast Conference Second Team for her performance at the NEC Championship Meet in New Haven, Conn., last weekend.   The Red Flash 200-yard freestyle relay team was also named to the All-Conference Second Team after finishing second at the meet.

Elise Merrill (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring), Abigale May (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area) and Kristen Low (Mississauga, Ontario/Cawthra Park) were named to the NEC’s All-Conference Third Team for their individual performances at the NEC meet.  SFU’s 400-yard medley relay, 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay teams were also named to the All-Conference Third Team.  

Dunn, who has been a threat in the backstroke all season long for the Red Flash, placed second in the 200-yard backstroke.  Her time of 2:06.18 lowered the school record she set earlier in the season.  

The 200-yard freestyle medley relay quartet of Merrill, May, Meg Seale (Winchester, Pa./Seton School) and Melissa Heintz (Boyertown, Pa./Oley Valley) took second place at the NEC meet with a time of 1:39.30.  That time ranks second on program’s all-time top 10 list.  

Merrill took third place in the 100-yard freestyle in New Haven, touching the wall in 58.66.    She also set a new school record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.53 in the event, placing fifth overall.

May, who joins the Red Flash swim team after competing in cross-country for Saint Francis, earned an all-conference nod by taking third place in the 100-yard butterfly.  May finished the four laps in a time of 59.24.  Her preliminaries time of 59.05 ranks second on the school’s all-time top 10 list.  

Low also grabbed a third place finish for the Red Flash.  She finished the 400-yard individual medley in a time of 4:40.04.  Low already owns a spot on the all-time top 10 list in the event.

The Red Flash 400-yard medley relay grabbed a third place finish while setting a new record in New Haven last weekend.  The team of Dunn, May, Heintz and Elyse Peterman (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) finished the event in a time of 4:01.84, besting the previous school record set in 1999 by almost two seconds.

The Flash’s 200-yard medley relay also nabbed a third place finish and broke the school record.  The quartet of Merrill, Peterman, Elyse Dobrick (Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley) and Angela Marino (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) completed the event in 1:49.28.

Continuing with the relay success theme, SFU’s 800-yard freestyle team also earned conference honors for a third place finish at the NEC meet.  Heintz, Dunn, McKenzie Madore (State College, Pa./State College Area) and Kaitlin MacDonald (Olney, Md./Holy Cross) touched the wall in 7:59.52.  The time earned the quartet the fourth spot on the program’s all-time top 10 list.  

“We are so proud of the accomplishments of this year's team,” said head coach Pat Gallagher.  “It was such a competitive meet this year, it was nice to see these women step up and compete with the best the NEC has to offer.”