ALTOONA, PA--Sometimes experience counts.  Led by co-captains Kandace Morris and Marissa Larson, the Gallaudet Women's Swim Team won their first meets of the season, including an impressive and hard-fought 104-87 victory over Penn State-Altoona, a women's team the Aqua-Bison had never before beaten.  The men, minus several of their teammates, lost 117-57.  Both teams now stand at 2-5 on the year. 

Larson started the excitement early with a surprise win in the 200 Freestyle, and was pushed by sophomore Katie Day's second place finish in that event.  But the true drama occurred right after the first break when senior Morris beat her Altoona rival by .01 seconds – literally faster than a blink – in the 100 Butterfly.  And with the meet on the line, Morris, Larson, Day and junior Jodi Winkelmann brought home team victory in the 200 Free Relay, the last event of the day.   Freshman Carlisle Robinson continued her impressive season, winning both the long-distance 1000 yard Freestyle and the sprint 100 yard Freestyle, and getting second in the 100 Breast despite an injured ankle.    But the true measure of success was Gallaudet's depth:  Misella Tomita, Kira Roberts, Cloe Canela, Jennifer Cox, Trista Langford, and Kristin Dressler all scored significant team points, sometimes swimming difficult events for the first time ever. 

“I'd like to say I enjoyed the meet,” quipped Head Coach Bill Snape “but the women's meet had my heartbeat elevated for over two hours.  It felt good for all of us when the team win was safely in our grasp.” 

Although the Aqua-Bison's next meet is not until January, the team will be busy over the next six weeks.  Before exams begin in early December, the team will be training hard and will resume “monster workouts” in early January before the second semester begins.   Already with six new team records under their belt, the Gally men and women's teams not only have the opportunity to re-write almost all records on the books, but also to garner more team wins and Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) championship points than any Gallaudet swim team in history. 

“We have a saying on this team,” concluded Snape, “are you 'wishing it or wanting it'?  Between now and mid-February, we will find out how badly this team WANTS success.”