Web exclusive: Senior swimmers snatch spot-light

‘ ‘ ‘ The last regular-season meet of any sporting season can be overwhelming, as a team shifts… ‘ ‘ ‘ The last regular-season meet of any sporting season can be overwhelming, as a team shifts focus to championship meets and its overarching goals for the season. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ For a senior on the swimming and diving team, that last meet carries more weight, as an athletic career that has probably taken up the majority of one’s life will likely end in the near future. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Eight seniors on the Pitt swimming and diving team competed in Trees Pool for the last time on Saturday, as they welcomed friends and families, one family from as far as Venezuela, to watch them take on Clarion University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the women from California University (Pa.) and Slippery Rock University. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘[The seniors] did a great job,’ said Pitt coach Chuck Knoles. ‘They’ve brought a great deal of pride to the program and a great deal of consistency. It’s been an honor to be able to coach them all four years.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘A team’s success is always centered around your seniors and leadership. You want your leaders to be your seniors, and this year that was the case. They’ve done a tremendous job in maintaining stability on the team and moving the teams forward.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Both teams beat all their visitors in the contest. The men’s scores were 216-76 over Clarion and 233-54 over Carnegie Mellon, while the women took California (Pa.), Clarion, Carnegie Mellon and Slippery Rock with scores of 245-13, 191-106, 243-24 and 245-35, respectively. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The teams were led by freshmen Performers of the Meet Megan Sisko, who placed second in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events, and George Krakowski, who placed second in an amazing 100 butterfly. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Junior Ryann Kishbaugh paced the Panthers as well, individually winning the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly and swimming for the second-place 200 medley relay team. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Senior Erin Meehan took the 200 freestyle, but for her the day was about enjoying her surroundings. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘You want to have fun with your team the last time you swim,’ said Meehan. ‘The juniors did a really great job decorating. They got us a big plaque with pictures and framed our caps, and they decorated our lockers and the balcony. The team just did a great job decorating and making it a really special day for us.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The men’s side had several top-three finishers, including sophomore Bobby Smith, who won the 200 backstroke, was second in the 100 backstroke and took part in the winning 200 medley relay team. Senior B.J. Conklyn was a member of the same relay team and won the 100 breaststroke. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Senior Andrew Kyrejko placed second in the 100 breaststroke, an event he wanted to try but hadn’t swum since high school. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘[The coaches] said they wished they’d known I could swim that event at the beginning of the year,’ said Kyrejko. ‘Getting to this point is just quite an achievement. Sweating it out for this amount of time, it’s just rewarding knowing that you did it.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers will travel to Indianapolis on Feb. 18 to compete in the Big East Championships.