The University of Mary Washington women's swim team has won all 18 Capital Athletic Conference championships since the inception of the conference in 1991.  The UMW men's swim team has won 14 championships in the 18-year history of the CAC, including eight straight.

The Eagles are the favorite to extend those streaks when the 2009 CAC Championship is held Feb. 13-15 at St. Mary's College, Md.  Sophomores Sarah Crockett and Stephen Clendenin, the 2008 CAC Rookies of the Year, return to lead their respective lineups for Mary Washington.

But UMW will see new challenges this season as each of the six opponents vying for the titles have record holders and CAC medalists returning to the lineup this season.  Impressive newcomers have been added to the lineups that will challenge for medals as top three finishers at the championship.

The season begins Saturday (10/18) when Mary Washington visits Washington & Lee for a non-conference meet.  The first CAC dual meet of the season is slated for Oct. 25, when Hood travels to York.

Here is a brief look at each team heading into the 2008-09 season:

The GALLAUDET men return multiple individual school record holder Jimmy McGowan, a sophomore from Florida, as well as relay record holders Daniel DiDonna and Kris Lauderbaugh.  What is perhaps most impressive about the 08-09 men's squad is it size, with over 20 men currently on the roster, which is the highest in school history and includes several freshmen and first year swimmers.  The men hope to break all five school relay records, as it did last year, and improve upon its sixth place finish at the CAC Championships. The team captain this year is senior Scott Cohen.

GALLAUDET's women will be led by sophomore captain Carlisle Robinson from Indiana, who has the  opportunity to break many individual school records in several events, and to place in the top 3 at CAC Championsips in at least the two butterfly events.  She is joined by junior Katie Day, senior Marissa Larson, sophomore Misella Tomita, senior Cloe Canela, sophomore Kira Roberts and a good group of freshmen and other first year swimmers.  Robinson, who is an honors student at Gallaudet, has also made the 2009 U.S. Deaflympic Swim Team.

HOOD men's swimming senior team captain and school record holder Matt Haynes will be looking to finish his swimming career on a high note in the sprint free events. Sophomore breaststroker Robbie Ennis won two consolation heats at the championship meet last season and looks to improve on those finishes. Two transfers, Chris Moreland and Chris Nemecek, will help make Hood's team competitive in the relay events and add solid depth to the fly and middle distance events.

HOOD sophomore Kim Wolfgang returns for the women's team, having placed in the top 8 at CAC's in multiple events (IM and back). Senior team captain Ashley Garyn can swim almost any event giving the Blazers a lot of flexibility. Junior Erica Hamor could score at CAC's in a multiple number of events as well. The addition of Michelle Leggieri, Tairen Lamkin, Helene Butler and Kara Cruice will shore up the squad's depth.

MARYMOUNT returns nine letter-winners from last year's men's squad including senior Greg Murtha, who won two events and placed second in the CAC championships in 2008.  MU also returns another senior, Chris Watson, a 2007 First Team All CAC winner.  Junior Brian Morch will be looking to improve upon his 3^rd place finish in the 200 fly at last year's CACs.  A strong group of freshmen make the 2009 squad the deepest in Marymount's history.

MARYMOUNT finished third in the CAC women's standings last season and returns 16 letter-winners, led by a group of five seniors all returning for their fourth year in the pool.  Leading the way will be the 2008 CAC Swimmer of the Year, Ashley Smith.  Also expected to make their mark this season are seniors Angie Tinsman, Amanda Shanks, Rachel Shumaker and Emily Campbell.  Juniors Nicole Hallberg, Alex Bekampis and Amanda Sterling, all finalists at last year's CAC meet, will also be strong contributors.  An outstanding freshman class will look to add depth and strength to a team that saw 16 of 18 competitors score at the CACs in 2008.

MARY WASHINGTON will be looking toward capturing its ninth consecutive CAC men's swimming title this spring. The Eagles, under second year head coach Matt Sellman, return the reigning CAC Rookie of the Year in Stephen Clendenin, who advanced to the NCAA Championships a season ago. Joining Clendenin will be sophomores Ian McCormick and Brad Dunn, both of whom were CAC champions a year ago. A large cast of talented newcomers will add to the depth that helped the Eagles to their 14th conference title last March.

The 18-time CAC women's swimming champion, MARY WASHINGTON will be led NCAA Championships competitor and reigning CAC Rookie of the Year Sarah Crockett, who broke the conference record in the 500 yard freestyle a year ago. Also returning for UMW will be Michelle Sawyer and Rachel Wallace, both of whom were CAC champions from a year ago. Seniors Mikey Pride and Mallory Cruise will also compete for advancement to the NCAA Championships in '09.

SALISBURY will look to improve upon last year's second consecutive third place finish at the CAC men's championships in which they broke 10 school records. The team has implemented a weight training program that transfers directly from the weight room to the pool and it has shown positive results thus far in the preseason practices. The Sea Gulls will welcome back four All-CAC performers in seniors Brad Buckley and Benjamin S. Overholt, junior Mike Ferrari, and sophomore Drew Robichaud. Head Coach Jill Stephenson expects freshmen newcomers Sean Glover and Jason Preston to post immediate results. She has also been impressed with junior transfer Kevin Lonergan.

The SALISBURY women's swim team expects big things this season and will look to capitalize on last year's fourth place finish at the CAC championships. The women will need to work together as a team, as the Sea Gull women are deeper than in recent years. SU lost All-CAC performer Becky Ayers, who transferred, but have a solid mix of returners and newcomers to make up for it. The entire women's All-CAC 800 free relay team composed of seniors Laura Kordzikowski and Raienne South along with juniors Angie Hammond and Maureen Gillespie will return. Head Coach Jill Stephenson has also been impressed with senior Allie Ziegler, sophomore Katy Turner, and rookies Katie Fitzenreiter and Jenna Petrella.

The ST. MARY'S men's swim team returners are highlighted by Mike Preston, the defending 200 free CAC Champion and SMCM record holder in the same event, while Chris Cammarata, Ben Jaskiewicz, and Joey Quase will serve as this year's team captains.  Head coach Andre Barbins expects big improvements from Aaron Page and Jackson Webb after the pair made significant contributions in their first season with the Seahawks. All-CAC performers Quase and Cam Buckingham will be counted on for strong seasons as well as for veteran leadership.  First-years Troy Kent and Chris O'Donnell are expected to make a noticeable splash in the fly and sprint free events.

ST. MARY'S coach Andre Barbins, the 2008 CAC Women's Swimming Coach-of-the-Year, looks towards more NCAA cuts this season, the women are ahead of the game as all members of the record-setting relay teams return in 2008-09.  The defending 100 fly CAC Champion and 200 fly school record holder, Rachel Hotchko, will look to retain her individual title in the 100 fly.  Barbins looks forward to Eleanor Koerner having a strong senior year and Brie McDowell, the program's first-ever All-American, to return to NCAA action.  All-CAC performers Sofia Sokolove and Arielle Webster as well as Rosa Trembour are expected to take the next step to make them strong contenders at the CAC Championships.  Highlighting the incoming class are Christine DiMenna (fly/free), Mandy Pazouki (breaststroke), and Katie Serfling (IM/free).

YORK enters this men's swimming season looking to build on their back-to-back second place finishes at the Capital Athletic Conference championships. The Spartans graduated CAC Male Swimmer-of-the-Year Steven Fulcher but York welcomes back a wealth of talent including seniors Matt Jennings, Garrett Higgins, Adam Usciak, and Chris Suehr. The Spartans also welcome in seven new swimmers that will each have the opportunity to make an impact on the green and white fortunes in 2008-09.

YORK's women's swim team comes into the 2008-09 with raised expectations thanks to a deep and talented recruiting class. The Spartans feel they are a new team with new expectations for the upcoming season. The senior class of Bridget Miller, Colleen Nolan, and Meghan Wallace will provide leadership to the very young squad including nine new recruits to the team. York will look to improve on last year's fifth place finish at the CAC championships.