The Shippensburg University women’s swimming team will venture to York one more time for the 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships, contested Wednesday – Saturday at the Graham Aquatic Center.
“I think we’re a better women’s team than we get credit for,” head coach Tim Verge said. “I’m excited to see how our depth carries through. I think we have some people this year that can really turn a corner. But potential is one thing, so we have to go over and make it happen.”
“These past couple weeks we’ve been sort of focusing on dialing it back,” junior Alyssa Tomb said. “Focusing on the little stuff like our starts and our turns, and being really fast in the water, and being a little bit more specific with what exactly our races are, rather than the big scheme of getting strong and everything like that.”
The Raiders, third-place finishers in 2021, have had a few opportunities to prepare for a meet structured like the conference championships – notably back in November at Franklin & Marshall. At a meet like the PSAC Championships, the importance of the morning prelims is pivotal as always.
“I think having fun is really important,” Verge said. “We had a great meet at F&M in the fall and they were just enjoying themselves and enjoying each other. I hope we continue that. With the competition at this level there’s always a little bit of nerves, and expectations might be higher, but I think if we can do a good job of staying grounded and just thinking about how we want to race instead of how our outcomes are going to be, then I think we can do really well.”
Tomb added: “We spend a lot of time together, so the team dynamic has gotten really strong. We’re really excited to watch each other race and swim at PSACs.”
Shippensburg’s competitors at the 2023 PSAC Championships:
Junior Marissa Bittner (Middletown, Del./Appoquinimink)
Freshman Lana Brown (Oley, Pa./Oley)
Senior Marina Cote (Papillion, Neb./Daniel J. Gross)
Sophomore Lauren Croll (Honolulu, Hawaii/President Theodore Roosevelt)
Sophomore Gwen Elsey (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory)
Sophomore Kristin Gebhard (Reading, Pa./Twin Valley)
Junior Michaela Hersh (Mertztown, Pa./Brandywine Heights)
Junior Rachel Johnston (Lexington Park, Md./Leonardtown)
Sophomore Allie Keeling (Redlands, Cal./Redlands)
Sophomore Emily Newton (Summit Hill, Pa./Panther Valley)
Freshman Grace Reagan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley)
Junior Sammy Taylor (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty)
Junior Alyssa Tomb (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford)
Junior Lexington Wagner (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg)
Sophomore Gracie Wetzel (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe)
