Oct. 20, 2005

Fairfield, CT - The Sacred Heart University women's swimming and diving team is getting ready to kick-off more than just their 2005-06 season. The Pioneers are preparing to begin a new era as new head coach Allyson Tolla takes over at the helm of the program.

Tolla takes over the team from Kim Dolan who resigned last spring. She brings with her nearly two decades of swimming experience. Tolla swam at Providence College from 1991-95. In that time she was a two time Big East Conference champion and a six time New England champion. She served as team tri-captain as a senior and also holds several school records. After graduating in 1995, she stayed on for one year as a graduate assistant.

In the pool, the Pioneers return some key swimmers who will be looking to improve on last year's 9th place finish at the Northeast Conference Championships. The Pioneers will be led by tri-captains Brianne Ryan (Hingham, MA/Hingham), Krystina Eikeseth (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville), and Eileen Connor (Enfield, CT/Enrico Fermi).

The Pioneers strongest event might be the freestyle, where all three captains, along with sophomore Adriana Morgan (Poughkeepsie, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) consistently posted top times last year. Also, sophomore Lauren Kenneson (Newington, CT/Newington) will likely swim some freestyle races for the Pioneers, who have sophomore Catheryn Lozinak (Shelton, CT/Shelton) returning in the event as well.

In the backstroke, SHU will likely rely on sophomore Laura Johnson (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook), their top swimmer in the event in 2004-05. Johnson will also swim many of the breaststroke meets along with sophomore Bridget McGowan (Norfolk, MA/Bishop Feehan). Eikeseth and Connor are penciled in as the primary swimmers in the butterfly for the Pioneers. Sophomore Ashley Allen (Mastic Beach, NY/Mastic Beach) will swim many of the sprint events for SHU. On the diving board, junior Elizabeth Schweitzer (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) will be the focus for Sacred Heart.

The Pioneers welcome several new swimmers this year, as the freshman class will get an opportunity to shine early. Joining Johnson in the backstroke events will be freshman Erin Bulvanoski (Oceanport, NJ/Red Bank Catholic). Johnson's teammate for many of the breaststroke competitions will be freshman Samantha Cerami (Mahwah, NJ/Mahwah). Adding to the already deep pool of Pioneer freestylers are two newcomers, Jacqueline Sweeney (Rockville Centre, NY/Kellenberg Memorial) and Jennifer Crowley (Newington, CT/Newington).

The Pioneers open their season Saturday October 22nd when they visit St. Francis PA. That is followed by home meets in back-t-back weeks, against CW Post and Manhattan, respectively. After six straight road meets, the Pioneers close out the regular season at home against Central Connecticut on February 4th. The three day Northeast Conference Championship event runs from February 16-18 in Landover, MD.