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St. Andrews to discontinue swimming program
April 4, 2008 Swimming Head Coach Jason Gallaher’s recent decision to join the Swim Kids Swim School in Virginia prompted St. Andrews to review the program. “When a major change occurs in the program, we take the opportunity to review that program and determine whether it is meeting the college’s objectives,” said Hopkins. “We determined for a variety of reasons that we would not continue the swimming program at this time, placing our resources and time into other areas.” The program is in its first year at St. Andrews. Currently, there are 13 students who participate on the St. Andrews swim teams. All but four are walk-ons or dual sport athletes. The students recruited to the school for the swim team will continue to receive their athletic scholarships for the remainder of their swimming eligibility while at St. Andrews. The team members were informed of the decision earlier this week. “Although we regret discontinuing this program during its infancy, we hope that we will be able to bring this sport back to the campus at an appropriate time in the future,” said Paul Baldasare, president of St. Andrews. The women’s and men’s swim teams finished 9 th and 11 th respectively out of 12 teams at this season’s conference championship meet. St. Andrews continues to field 16 NCAA Division II athletic teams. |