February 20-22, 2004
Klag & Simons Shine at CC Champs
Klag Named Meet's Outstanding Performer

LANCASTER, PA -- Washington College senior Margaret Klag (Silver Spring, MD/Sherwood) and freshman Ally Simons (Camp Hill, PA/Cumberland Valley) each won three gold medals and swam to one NCAA A Cut time at this weekend's Centennial Conference Women's Swimming Championships, held at Franklin & Marshall College. Klag was named the meet's Outstanding Performer.

Klag's top performance came in the 100 breaststroke, where she won in an NCAA A Cut time of 1:05.82 to break the school and conference records. In the 200 breaststroke, she won gold in an NCAA B Cut time of 2:24.05 to break the meet and school records in the event. She won the 50 freestyle in an NCAA B Cut and school-record time of 24.66. She also swam to B Cut times in the preliminaries of the 100 breaststroke (1:06.68) and 200 breaststroke (2:25.54).

Simons swam to an A Cut time in the 200 butterfly, winning in a conference-record time of 2:07.00. She captured gold in the 200 individual medley in a B Cut and school-record time of 2:10.24 and won the 100 butterfly in a B Cut and WC season-best time of 58.29. She also swam to B Cut times in the preliminaries of the 100 butterfly (59.41) and 200 butterfly (2:09.62).

Klag's performance in the 100 breaststroke and Simons' performance in the 200 butterfly automatically qualified them to swim in the NCAA Division III Championships to be held in St. Peters, MO, March 11th-13th.

Simons and Klag also swam on all three of the Shorewomen's medal-winning relays. Freshman Liz Shoemaker (Berwyn, PA/Conestoga), Klag, junior Ana Prado (Ferrol, Spain/Tirso), and Simons won silver in the 200 medley relay in a B Cut and school-record time of 1:51.19. Shoemaker, junior Samantha Shaffer (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown), Simons, and Klag won silver in the 400 medley relay, finishing in a B Cut time of 4:02.36. Simons, sophomore Becky Binns (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain), Klag, and freshman Sidra Carman (Silver Spring, MD/Albert Einstein) took bronze in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:40.80 to break to school record.

Shaffer, Shoemaker, and junior Emily Rawson (Derwood, MD/Richard Montgomery) each finished in the top 10 in two individual events. Shaffer was fourth in the 100 breaststroke in a B Cut time of 1:08.47 and fifth in the 200 breaststroke in 2:31.48. Rawson finished fifth in the 100 butterfly in 1:01.60 and sixth in the 200 butterfly in 2:13.94. Shoemaker was fifth in the 100 backstroke in a WC season-best time of 1:01.15 and seventh in the 200 backstroke in 2:15.41.

Other individual top-ten finishes were turned in by senior Carolyn Myers (Lititz, PA/Linden Hall School for Girls), who was 10th in the 1650 freestyle in 18:47.50, and sophomore Chrissy Romano (Westfield, NJ/Westfield), who finished ninth in the 200 backstroke in 2:14.65.

Franklin & Marshall won the meet, followed by Gettysburg in second and Dickinson in third. The Shorewomen finished fifth as a team at the event.

WC Gold Medals
Margaret Klag - 100 breaststroke - 1:05.82 (A Cut time, Conference Record)
Ally Simons - 200 butterfly - 2:07.00 (A Cut time, Conference Record)
Margaret Klag - 200 breaststroke - 2:24.05 (B Cut, Meet Record, School Record)
Ally Simons - 200 IM - 2:10.24 (B Cut time, School Record)
Margaret Klag - 50 freestyle - 24.66 (B Cut time, School Record)
Ally Simons - 100 butterfly - 58.29 (B Cut time)

WC Silver Medals
Shoemaker, Shaffer, Simons, Klag - 400 medley relay - 4:02.36 (B Cut time)
Shoemaker, Klag, Prado, Simons - 200 medley relay - 1:51.19 (B Cut time, School Record)

WC Bronze Medals
Simons, Binns, Klag, Carman - 200 freestyle relay - 1:40.80 (School Record)

Other WC NCAA Cut Times in Finals
Samantha Shaffer - 100 breaststroke - 1:08.47 (B Cut time - 4th place)

WC NCAA Cut Times in Preliminaries
Ally Simons - 100 butterfly - 59.41 (B Cut time)
Margaret Klag - 100 breaststroke - 1:06.68 (B Cut time)
Margaret Klag - 200 breaststroke - 2:25.54 (B Cut time)
Ally Simons - 200 butterfly - 2:09.62 (B Cut time)