Second Season Monks Off to Great Start

By Patrick DeCola

GNAC Correspondent, Saint Joseph's College of Maine

For a team that is only in its second year of existence, the Saint Joseph’s College of Maine Swim team sure is turning some heads. After its initial season, which set the groundwork for years to come, the team returned this season with an excellent new coach in Rick Horr, great newcomers, and determined returning swimmers.

Last year, the women’s team set the bar high, finishing with a 5-2 record. The team’s first coach, Rebecca Biggs, did a lot of work to get the program off to a head start by making sure she brought in strong recruits, and it’s showing this year.

The women are off to a sizzling hot start, being undefeated heading into winter break.  Every win has been by forty-plus points, except a hard-fought victory against Colby-Sawyer to kick the season off. St. Joseph’s winning ways continued through the first half of the season, up through the GNAC Championships, where they felt they had something to prove to the rest of the conference.

Last year, St. Joe’s placed fifth at its first ever conference championship.  Certainly, this laid a solid stepping stone and established something to build off of, but the team had its sight set on a higher prize this year. The heavyweight of the conference Simmons College, looking for its fifth straight conference title, stood in the way. Unfortunately for the Monks, when all was said in done, Simmons was able to come out on top. However, the team was high in spirits and put on an All-Star performance. Freshman Hannah Gajewski and 2007-2008 team MVP Lindsay D’Ascanio set the pace for the Monks, who swam their hearts out and managed to finish in an astounding in second place.

So, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine has a lot to look forward to regarding one of its up and coming athletics programs. Coach Horr has his eye on even more improvements for this team, including the school’s first training trip. There’s no going anywhere but up from here for St. Joe’s, and it’s exciting to see this program evolve into a potential powerhouse.