FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WOMEN'S SWIMMING FINISHES 6TH AT NESCAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ferrari wins 50- and 100-yard breaststroke

LEWISTON, Maine - Behind the performance of sophomore Megan Ferrari of Doylestown, Pa., the Bates College women's swimming and diving team placed sixth at the inaugural New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championships at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., on Feb. 16-18.

Ferrari earned two All-NESCAC honors for finishing in the top three in an individual event. On Feb. 16, she became the first-ever NESCAC individual champion by winning the meet's first non-relay race, the 50-yard breaststroke, in 31.38 seconds, breaking her own school record in the process. After finishing with the third-best time in the 100-yard breaststroke preliminaries on Feb. 17, Ferrari set another school record in the finals. Her time of 1:07.68 was nearly a full second better than her preliminary mark and met the 'B' standard for the NCAA Division III Championships, to be held March 2-4 in Buffalo, N.Y. Ferrari also had one other top-eight finish for the Bobcats, taking sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:29.46 in the finals. She met the NCAA 'B' standard in the preliminaries with her time of 2:28.49, once more establishing a new school record.

Three other Bates individuals recorded top-eight performances at the NESCAC championships. Senior captain Gudrun Mirick of Chaska, Minn., was the only other Bates racer to reach the more than one championship final. She placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:59.10 and eighth in the 50 free with a time of 25.28 seconds. Mirick's time of 25.07 in the preliminary heat was just .05 seconds away from a new school record.

Senior captain Pamela Murchie of Westbrook, Maine, matched Mirick for the Bobcats' second-best finish of the meet with her fifth-place time of 27.22 in the 50-yard butterfly, also a school record.

Sophomore Jill Kopicki of Cranford, N.J., reached the finals of the 100-yard individual medley, finishing in eighth place with a time of 1:03.55.

Ferrari is a 1999 graduate of Central Bucks High School East. She is the daughter of William and Robin Ferrari, Doylestown, Pa.

Mirick is a 1997 graduate of Chaska High School. She is the daughter of James and Mary Mirick, Chaska, Minn.

Murchie is a 1997 graduate of Westbrook High School. She is the daughter of John and Patricia Murchie,Westbrook, Maine.

Kopicki is a 1999 graduate of Cranford High School. She is the daughter of John and Mary Kopicki, Cranford, N.J.

For more information on Bates College swimming and diving, please visit our web site at http://www.bates.edu/sports/swimming.html.

Complete results from the NESCAC women's swimming and diving championships are available on the web at http://www.webcom.com/startkit/pj/results.html.