Romeoville, Ill. – The Lewis University women's swimming team dives into the 2013-14 season when the Flyers host Hillsdale on Saturday (Oct. 19) at 1 PM at Lewis Pool.
 
The Flyers join the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season after being a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) since the 2004-05 season.
 
"It is clear that our conditioning is well ahead of this point last year," Lewis head women's swimming coach Roger Karns said. "They have been working incredibly hard."
 
At the 2013 GLIAC Championships, the Flyers registered eight NCAA B cuts. Senior Sarah Kenis (Herndon, Va./Oakcrest), who led Lewis with three NCAA B cuts, picked up a second-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:18.55), a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.39) as well as a solid time in the 200-yard Individual Medley (2:07.50). Her times in the events gave her the opportunity to compete at the 2013 NCAA Championship meet.
 
"Sarah (Kenis) has made it a goal to return to the NCAAs this year," Karns said. "She is also working to improve her finish position."
 
Senior Caitlyn Scheirer (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) will be competitive in the butterfly and individual medley events as classmate Emily Heine (Madison, Miss./Madison Central), after making significant changes to her stroke, will be a top contributor in sprint events.
 
Karns points to a strong junior class to be a key in the Flyers' success this season. Cindy Jezuit (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North), in the sprint freestyle, and Katie Hallenbeck (Plano, Ill./Plano), in the butterfly, Individual Medley and distance freestyle, are poised to be impact swimmers. Fellow classmates Kristen Silvey (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) in the breaststroke, Individual Medley, and butterfly as well as Aubrey Miller (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area), in the backstroke, are looking to step up into prominent roles.
 
The freshman class is ready to dive in and contribute to the squad. At the Lewis Alumni Meet on September 30, Shannon Sullivan (Elmhurst, Ill./York Community) broke the Lewis pool record in the 100-yard freestyle, finishing the event with a time of 53.61. She broke Wayne State's Ashley Corriveau's time of 54.74, set on Jan. 14, 2011.
 
Fellow freshmen Kara Treacy (Corpus Christi, Texas/Flour Bluff) is set to lead the Flyer's distance group, while Brittnie Dean (Ottawa, Ill./Ottawa Township) will race in the breaststroke and distance freestyle events. Brittany Kamper (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) and Courtney Duy (Buckeye, Ariz./Millennium) will participate in the sprint freestyle and the backstroke events for the Flyers this season.
 
"The team is ready to get the season started," Karns said. "I feel this will be Lewis Swimming's most exciting season to date."