Sprint freestyle specialist Morgan Hughes returns after a solid freshman season that saw her advance to the NCAA Div. III Championships as a relay member.

Four-fifths of The College of Wooster's national swim team returns after an 18th-place finish at the 2012 NCAA Div. III Championships, giving the Fighting Scots plenty of optimism for a similar, if not better, performance this season. Wooster will also look to maintain its third-place standing in the ultra-competitive North Coast Athletic Conference.

"It's going to be tough … but our goals remain the same," said 10th-year head coach Rob Harrington. "We want to get back to nationals, score some points, and be nationally ranked again. And, there's going to be some pretty intense competition, but the goal is to be third again (in the conference)."

Morgan Hughes, Kate Hunt, Mariah McGovern, and Clare Walsh are the headliners among the 28 on the roster, as they represented Wooster on the national stage last March. Hunt, a senior butterfly specialist, led the way individually at the NCAA's via a 15th-place showing in the 200 fly (2:05.10) and she also was part of three All-American relays, highlighted by the eighth-place 800 freestyle team (3:28.89) that also included Hughes and Walsh.

Hughes, a sophomore, will pace the Scots in the sprint freestyles, events that saw her finish 10th in the conference in the 50 (24.38) and 11th in the 100 (53.10) during her first year. If she can drop time just a little, she'll be in contention for an invite to the NCAA Championships as an individual.

Walsh will complement Hughes in those events after taking 16th in the 50 (25.36) and 17th in the 100 free (54.45) at the conference meet, and others who could make a significant impact in the sprints include Hunt and newcomers Alexandra Desotelle and Molly Laubernds.

Supporting Hunt, who was all-NCAC via third-place finishes in both the 100 fly (56.24) and 200 fly (2:05.49), in the butterfly races is expected to be sophomore Anna Duke and Hughes. They placed 13th in the 200 (2:14.84) and 100 (58.85) at last February's NCAC Championships, respectively.

In addition to being a key freestyle relay member again, McGovern should rate among the conference's top backstrokers. Now a junior, she is coming off a 10th-place performance in the 100 (1:00.33) and a 14th in the 200 (2:10.45).

Another strong possibility to reach the NCAA meet is versatile senior Samira El-Adawy. She posted a provisional-qualifying time in the 400 IM (4:34.59) while finishing fifth in the NCAC, and also came in 11th in the 200 IM (2:09.13) and 12th in the 200 back (2:07.25).

Sophomore Colleen Kill also advanced to the conference's championship heat (top-eight) during the 400 IM as part of an eighth-place showing (4:41.98), and first-year Lena Smith has the potential to be a force in the IMs as well as the backstroke. Sophomore Holly Hickman provides depth as a backstroker who scored in both the 100 and 200 at the NCAC's.

The team's top returning breaststrokers are junior Rachel Appleton, sophomore Kaitlyn Fries, and senior Liv Aspiras, however, senior Caroline Hanson also could provide a major boost after missing the 2011-12 season to study abroad. Appleton tallied matching 11th-place conference swims in the 100 (1:08.61) and 200 breast (2:32.72), Fries was right behind in the 100, touching 13th (1:09.62), and Aspiras finished as high as 18th in the 200 (2:27.71). Hanson has three career NCAC championship finals in the breaststroke events to her credit, while Desotelle and fellow freshman Erin Drake will be in the mix, too.

Wooster will also score in the distance freestyle and diving, which could be the difference in its quest for another top-three conference finish. Kara Markham, a junior, leads the distance specialists after hitting 13th in the conference's 1650 (18;13.24), while seniors Caitlyn Murphy and Mary Nappi, the latter a co-captain along with Hunt, also are proven point producers.

Junior diver Adriana Hoak, previously a sprint freestyler as well, will focus on improving on the board following a ninth-place NCAC finish in the one-meter (242.15), and she is joined by two newcomers.