The men's and women's swimming diving teams will open their 2007-08 campaign on Friday, October 12, against Holy Cross in the RecPlex at 7 p.m.

The two teams last met at the end of last season. On the men's side, the Crusaders defeated the Stags, 124-117, after winning the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The victory marked the first time in three seasons that Holy Cross has won over Fairfield.  On the women's side, the Stags picked up the 128-110 victory. Fairfield won all but five events on the day.

Fairfield will face challenges during its 2007-08, namely replacing several veterans that had been integral in the Stags success over the last four years. The veterans - Jen Masi, Brittany Hunter, Tom Scappaticci, Russ Laub, and Tom Kozlowski - helped create a unity among both squads and left a legacy of a strong work ethic, positive attitude, and competitiveness. The two teams, who have been gelled into one force since last season, are focused and committed to the task at hand this year.

"Everyone in the pool has been getting after it, going as hard as they can go everyday in practice," Head Coach Bill Farley said. "It's an obvious change in the team. Everyone is more focused and prepared than ever before and it's a huge step forward for us. They are fully committed and I'm anxious to see what the season brings."

Team leadership starts with the captains. This year's quintet of seniors Rob Devine, Sean McGonigle, Rachel Waldstein, Liz Lawlor, and Sarah Dent are expected to lead by example and help the Stags surpass their goals.

Men's Team
Fairfield went just 1-8 overall and finished seventh in the MAAC last season, but with the addition of several talented newcomers and a refocused, dedicated attitude, the Stags are expected to have a solid season.

Freestyle - Fairfield's strength will again be in the sprint and middle distance events. Seniors Rob Devine and Sean McGonigle will provide their leadership and experience to the freestyle group. Last season, Devine finished 17^th in the 1650 free at MAACs and recorded several second-place finishes in the distance events. McGonigle finished 13th in the 1650 free and 14th in the 500 free at MAACs. He was also active in the relay events, and was a member of the 200m free relay that set record against Stony Brook with a time of 1:42.04.

Adding depth to the free will be sophomores Boris Romanovsky and Alex Connaughton along with newcomers Charlie Helm, Garrett Marqua, and Tom Brennan.

IM/Breaststroke - Junior Drew Kingman will again lead the way in the IM and breaststroke after a phenomenal debut with Fairfield last year. After becoming eligible during second semester, Kingman, a transfer from Denison University, burst onto the swimming scene, setting 10 school records (six individual, 4 relay) and qualifying for ECACs. He also finished third in three individual events at the MAAC Championships.

Freshman Jonathan O'Connor is a versatile swimmer that will fit into the Stags lineup nicely. He is expected to make great contributions in both the IM and breaststroke. Charlie Helm is also likely to check into these events.

Butterfly - Sophomores Boris Romanovsky and Alex Connaughton will have the most experience in the butterfly events as there will be several new faces in this area. The talent is there and, as the season goes on, the Stags should get stronger in these events. Joining Romanovsky and Connaughton are rookies Jonathan O'Connor and Chad Pfeifer.

Backstroke - The backstroke events will be decided on a meet-by-meet basis for the early portion of the season. Likely to see time in these events are Drew Kingman and Boris Romanovsky.

Diving - This season will be a bit of a rebuilding year for the Stags after the departure of several veterans. However, returning to the boards will be Taylor Stecko, who made a splash in his first season with the Stags. During the regular season, Stecko recorded 10 individual victories on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards and qualified for the ECAC Championships. At the MAAC Championships, he placed in the top-10 in both events. One week later at the ECAC Championships, he also placed in the top-ten in both events. Stecko's seventh place finish in the 3-meter and eighth place finish in the 1-meter at the event marked the first time since 2002 that a male diver had cracked the top-ten and were the highest finishes in program history. Greg Zacholl was the last Stag to place in the top-ten, taking ninth in the 1-meter. Joining Stecko on the boards will be freshman Brett Carisio.

Women's Team
The women's team will return 10 veterans to the pool deck this season. The Stags placed fifth overall at the MAAC Championships and posted an impressive 11th place finish at the ECAC Championships. The Stags remain strong even with the graduation of Jen Masi and Brittany Hunter, perhaps the two best swimmers in program history.

Freestyle - The middle distance and distance events will be a strong area for the Stags.Veterans Sarah Dent, Liz Lawlor, Courtney Nicholas and Kaitlyn Buckheit will bring their experience to the mix as Fairfield welcomes a host of talent.

In the sprints, Nicholas and Buckheit will be the mainstays while freshman Christina Brown and Katie Merz are expected to have a big impact. Classmates Samantha Ceglia and Wanda Szarek should also make solid contributions. In the distance events, Farley will look to freshmen Victoria Herbert, Colleen Wilson, and Meg Young.

Breaststroke - Senior Liz Lawlor will look to carry the momentum of last season into her final campaign. Lawlor qualified for the ECAC Championships one year ago in two relay and two individual events. She recorded an eighth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke and 17^th in the 200 breaststroke at ECACs. Lawlor, who is a part of nine program records, also took eighth in the 100 breaststroke at the MAAC Championships.

Sophomore Marina Meliones will specialize in the breaststroke this season after a solid rookie campaign. Freshmen Allison Russoniello and Colleen Wilson will also lend a hand.

Backstroke - The backstroke events will again be strong with the return of juniors Kaitlyn Buckheit and Carolyn Sheppard and seniors Sarah Dent and Courtney Nicholas.

Buckheit had a strong dual meet season and closed out the year with an 11^th place finish in the 100 back with a personal best. Dent, who joined the Stags midway through the season after studying abroad, performed well in the dual meets. She finished the year by placing eighth in the 100 back and 10th in the 200 back at the MAAC Championships. Nicholas placed 14th in the 200 back with a time of 2:20.97 at the MAACs while also competing in the 50 free and 100 back. Sheppard is a versatile swimmer that will compete in the IM events in addition to the backstroke. At the MAAC Championships one year ago, she took 15th in the 100 back and 16th in the 200 back and the 400 IM.

Adding depth will be newcomers Christina Brown, Sasha Campbell, and Meghan Carlson.

IM/Butterfly - Senior Rachel Waldstein will again be a key component to the Stags' success. Waldstein had a tremendous season which she capped off by recording personal bests in all events entered at MAACs. She placed 10th in the 200 fly, 11th in the 100 IM and 14th in the 200 IM.

Diving - The diving corps will be strong once again with four solid performers returning in seniors Katie Yee, Jennifer Silvia, and Liz Freskakis and sophomore Hillary Urbancic.

Yee, a school record holder, highlighted the boards last season. She finished in the top-10 in both events at the MAAC and the ECAC Championships. Silvia spent the first half of the season abroad but finished up the year with a 10th place performance in the 3-meter and 11th place finish in the 1-meter at MAACs. Freskakis, a MAAC All-Academic selection, took 15th in the 3-meter and 19th in the 1-meter at MAACs. Urbancic took 12th in the 3-meter and 13th in the 1-meter at MAACs.