April 8, 2009

PITTSBURGH—Following a vote from the team, Pitt’s Head Swimming and Diving Coach Chuck Knoles announced the 2009-10 team captains.

Leading the women’s team will be juniors Allie Horvath and Sophie Cross. The co-captains both had success in the pool during the 2008-09 season, as each earned a Performer of the Meet honor and several top finishes throughout the year.

Additionally, each had successful trips to the Big East Championships. Cross earned a fifth-place finish in the 200 IM and finished seventh in the 200 fly, while Horvath finished in the top 20 in both the 100 and the 200 back, setting season-best marks. Horvath was also named the Most Improved Swimmer at the conclusion of the season.

The men’s squad will be led by returning captain Geoff Morgan, Jonathan Buchanan and sophomore Jason Erdeljac. A red-shirt senior next year, Buchanan excelled both in and out of the pool during the season. He recorded two top-10 finishes at the Big East Championships and was honored as the recipient of the Big East/Aeropostale Institutional Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.

The 2009 Panther Triad awardee, Morgan’s successes include multiple first-place finishes during the season, as well as 14th place at the Big East Championships in the 100 breast.

This past season, Erdeljac was a top-15 finisher at the Big East Championships on the 1M board. He also recorded a lifetime best score of 308.55 points on the 1M event.

The Panthers finished third at the Big East Championships, which is the third time in the past five seasons that the men’s and women’s team each finished among the top three at the conference meet.