Samira El-Adawy will attempt to return to the conference championship heat in the 200 backstroke.

With 33 members, 15 who scored individually at the 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, a deep and talented roster is ready to push The College of Wooster women's swimming team to another successful season during 2011-12.

Expected to lead the way are senior triplets Melissa Haug, Priscilla Haug, and Rebecca Haug, juniors Kate Hunt and Samira El-Adawy, and sophomore Mariah McGovern. Five of them advanced to championship finals (top-eight) at last year's conference meet, as did junior breaststroker Caroline Hanson, who will return as well after studying abroad during the fall.

Melissa Haug and Hunt will continue to push each other in the butterfly, as they attempt to qualify for the NCAA Div. III Championships. Last season, they both recorded "B" cuts in the 100 fly while exchanging the school record, with Hunt breaking it with a 57.47 time during a sixth-place effort at the NCAC's and then Haug taking it back the next weekend in 57.03. Haug was seventh in the 100 at conference (58.03) and fourth in the 200 (2:08.71), touching moments before Hunt in fifth (2:08.93).

McGovern gained notice via a strong debut, highlighted by sixth in the NCAC's 100 backstroke (59.56). She'll look to challenge for a national cut in that and continue to serve as the team's top distance freestyler as well. McGovern was 13th in the 1650 (18:20.49).

Priscilla Haug has twice reached an NCAC championship heat in the 200 backstroke, including last February's sixth-place effort (2:09.37), and she'll also be a force in the 400 IM again. Rebecca Haug excels in the 200 IM and butterfly races, having been part of the consolation finals in the 100 and 200 fly each of the last two seasons.

El-Adawy joined Priscilla Haug among the top-eight of the 200 back, marking the first championship of her career (2:11.71), and the versatile swimmer put forth a 10th-place in the 400 IM (4:39.80).

A number of other Wooster swimmers are not far from being in an NCAC championship themselves. Clare Walsh aims to improve on her 14th-place sprints in both the 50 freestyle (25.48) and 100 free (54.78), while Adriana Hoak was 16th in each of those races (25.53, 55.90). Walsh could be even stronger in the 100 back.

Junior Caitlyn Murphy and senior Sarah Rudawsky are two distance specialists who were part of the NCAC consolation heat in the 400 IM, Murphy edging Rudawsky in 15th- (4:56.21) and 16th-place (4:56.25). They also both scored in the 1650, with Rudawsky leading the duo in that one in 17th (18:58.22), and junior Mary Nappi will be right there with them, too, after her 17th in the 400 IM (4:58.77) and 18th in the 1650 (18:59.35).

Sophomore Kara Markham was slightly ahead of all of them at 15th in the 1650 (18:37.21), and she'll be one of the team leaders in the breaststroke, along with sophomore Rachel Appleton and junior Liv Aspiras. Aspiras earned 18th in the 200 (2:37.32), one place and exactly one second ahead of Appleton (2:38.32), and in the 100, it was Appleton slightly ahead of Aspiras as they touched 22nd (1:14.62) and 23rd (1:15.61), respectively.

Thirteen first-years have joined the program as well, headlined by Morgan Hughes, Colleen Kill, Alyssa Hullings, Anna Duke, Caitlin Shea, and Kaitlyn Fries.

Despite all the assembled talent, ninth-year coach Rob Harrington expects it to be a challenge for the Fighting Scots to match last season's fourth-place team finish in the preeminent conference in NCAA Div. III for swimming.

"Our conference is just fast swimming-wise," he stated. "It's going to be a challenge in the top half. If we can be a top-four team … it would be a real accomplishment."