UNH SEASON PREVIEW: Women's Swimming & Diving Raring to Start the 2015-16 Season

DURHAM, N.H. -- Coming off a season that culminated with a high conference finish and several name changes on the Swasey Pool record board, the University of New Hampshire women's swimming & diving team has elevated expectations for the 2015-16 season. Head coach Josh Willman, beginning his 23rd season at UNH, is set to guide an enthusiastic and motivated squad that is capable of accomplishing great things.

After coming within 14 points of claiming an America East crown, the Wildcats look to compete for another banner and send representatives to the NCAA Championships. Aside Willman, a 13-time America East and four-time ECAC Coach of the Year, he will be assisted by associate head coach Jarrod Zwirko for the eighth consecutive season. Also returning is second-year volunteer assistant coach Melissa Hubley. Diving coach Lindsay Close is the most recent addition to the deck and will look to make the diving contingent a force to be reckoned with.

Seniors

Bettina Caspersen (Lyngby, Denmark), named a co-captain for this year's squad, looks to finish her
collegiate career on a high note as the lone meber of the senior class. She was a member of the first place 200-yard freestyle quartet (1:33.91) at the America East Championships and collected a pair of bronze finishes in the 200-yard IM (2:04.12) and 200-yard breaststroke. She holds the second fastest 200-yard breaststroke time in program history, stopping the clock at 2:13.56.

Juniors

The three person junior class is headlined by co-captain Sarah Broderick (Haverhill, Mass.). Broderick's second season with the Wildcats earned her a myriad of first-place finishes, including four at the America East Championships. She engineered the fastest time in the 100-yard backstroke, cutting through the water to register a time of 56.58. Broderick was also a member of the 400-yard freestyle team that set a new conference, program and pool record with a time of 3:22.55 at the conference championships. She also contributed to winning times in the 200-yard free (1:33.91) and 400-yard medley (3:44.32) relay quartets. Bolstering the junior class is Sarah Olver (Whitefish Bay, Wis.). At the America East Championships, she started the meet by winning the 400-yard IM consolation heat with a time of 4:35.70. Olver followed up with a new personal-best and sixth-place mark in the 200-yard breaststroke, clocking in at 2:19.76. She capped off her performance at the America East Championships with a time of 1:05.57 in the 100-yard breaststroke, good for eighth place.

Sophomores

Last year's freshman class -- now sophomores – made a great impact and will be relied upon this season once again. Two of them set school records in their first seasons, including Liza Baykova (Moscow, Russia) and Jessica Harper (Easthampton, Mass.). Named the meet's Most Outstanding Rookie at the America East Championships, Baykova snapped a program and conference record in the 200-yard freestyle with a provisional cut time of 1:47.48 at the league meet. The performance snapped a record previously set by Denise Leckenby, who posted a time of 1:48.33 in 1996. She also garnered the ECAC Swimmer of the Meet honor at the three-day championships, which was highlighted by a record-setting performance of 1:47.54 in the 200-yard freestyle. Harper quickly cemented her name in UNH history during her first season with the 'Cats. In the 500-yard freestyle at the America East Championships, Harper touched the wall first in 4:50.25, surpassing Lauren McCandless' previous record of 4:51.20 for fastest in program history. Harper was also a member of the record-setting 800-yard freestyle that claimed first in the league championship meet with a time of 7:20.32. She continued to shine on the final day of the America East Championships, emerging victorious in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:42.81 and helped lift the 400-yard freestyle relay team to a first-place finish (3:22.55). Bridget Miller (Longmeadow, Mass.), after a breakout freshman season, is poised for a stellar sophomore campaign. At the America East Championships, Miller turned in a second-place time in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:13.30) as well as third-place finishes in both the 400-yard IM (4:29.16) and 500-yard freestyle (4:58.12).

On the platform, Savanna Desmarais (Durham, N.H.) and Hailee Miller (Milton, Mass.) look to spearhead a diving unit on the upswing. Desmaris finished seventh in the one-meter dive at the America East Championships, chalking up a score of 201.05. Miller placed eighth at the conference event with a score of 210.80 in the one-meter dive. Sarah Haggerty (Burlington, Vt.) has been added to diving unit.

Freshmen

UNH completes the roster with eight newcomers composed of six swimmers and two divers. The swimming newcomers consist of Brittany Driscoll (Wallingford, Conn.), Holly Driscoll (Wallingford, Conn.), Vivienne El-Sibay (Munich, Germany), Linnea Lemerise (Brentwood, N.H.), Brittany Moffatt (Cedar Falls, Iowa) and Maddie Murphy (Liverpool, N.Y.). Erin Cullather (Highland Park, Ill.) and Haggerty round out the new divers.

New Hampshire begins its 2015-16 season at Swasey Pool against the University of Vermont on Saturday, Oct. 17 (1 p.m.).