Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Swimming teams will begin the 2017-18 season at home on Saturday with a Skyline Conference dual meet against Purchase. The contest will be the first of five at the Kaplan Pool this season for the Knights and will begin at 3:00 p.m.
 
MSMC Men At A Glance: The Knights finished third at last season's Skyline Conference Championship and went on to a 12^th place team finish at the three-day Metropolitan Championships. The Mount finished the Metropolitan Meet with six school records, including three individual marks.
 
Ryan Ward (Brooklyn, N.Y.) set the school record in the 500-yard freestyle on day one of the Metropolitan Championships, while Robert Kohlus (Wading River, N.Y.) posted the new school standard in both the 100-yard and 200-yard butterfly events. Ward was also a part of three relay teams that set school records in the final event of the season.
 
In addition to Kohlus and Ward, the Knights return senior Kyle Barber (Shelton, Conn.), a member of two school record relay teams for the Knights. Juniors Alberto Gilman (New Windsor, N.Y.), Sam Kenney (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Philippe Noisy (New York, N.Y.) also return looking to make an impact during the 2017-18 season.
 
A talented young group of swimmers include: sophomores Athar Khan (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), Kohlus, Michael Neugebauer (Newburgh, N.Y.) and Davonte Woodton (Fort Montgomery, N.Y.) as well as newcomers Matthew Gallo (Clark, N.J.) and P.J. Ramsey (Plantsville, Conn.).
 
MSMC Women At A Glance: The Mount had a string of five straight Skyline Conference Championships ended a season ago with a runner-up finish at the league championship meet. The Knights went on to post their best ever finish at the Metropolitan Championship Meet, placing eighth as a team.
 
The Mount finished the Skyline Conference Championship Meet with five new Championship Meet records and totaled 11 school records over the three-day Metropolitan Meet.
 
Senior Marissa Catania (Rocky Hill, Conn.) enters the season the holder of a trio of individual school records and as part of a pair of school record relay teams. She is one of three seniors on the current roster, joining Danielle Hughes (Oakville, Conn.) and Samantha McGregor (Highland Mills, N.Y.), the school record holder in the 200-yard butterfly.
 
A talented junior class includes Kyra McNamee (Yonkers, N.Y.), the 2016 Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year, and the holder of 200-yard freestyle school record and a member of two record setting relay teams for the Knights as well as Lauren Schroeder (Wantagh, N.Y.) a member of the 400-yard freestyle school record team. McNamee and Schroeder are joined by classmates Stephanie Adams (Liverpool, N.Y.), Brigit Gardner (Staten Island, N.Y.), Breanne Greaves (Hamilton, N.J.), Alexis Mullin (Waterbury, Conn.), Sarah Quade (Middletown, N.Y.) and Maryn Vaillancourt (Waterbury, Conn.).
 
The Mount will feature eight freshmen and a sophomore on the 2017-18 roster, with Taylor Hollis (East Hartford, Conn.) the only sophomore on the squad. Newcomers Katie Barber (Shelton, Conn.), Abigail Bemer (Waterbury, Conn.), Laynie Callo (Milton, N.Y.), Samantha Gangemi (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Shayla McCarroll (Glenville, N.Y.), Jocelyn Medina (Waterbury, Conn.), Daley O'Keefe (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Sophia Reinhardt (Port Ewen, N.Y.) will look to make immediate impact starting on Saturday.
 
The Schedule: The Knights will host league rivals Maritime, USMMA and Old Westbury in addition to Purchase and will also welcome King's (Pa.) to Newburgh on November 4. The schedule also features the two-day Diamond City Invitational hosted by King's, the Skyline Conference Championship and the Metropolitan Championship Meet.
 
What's Next: Following Saturday's season opener, the Mount will travel to Wilkes on October 28 and to the College of Staten Island on October 28.