As part of a 10-member recruiting class, Ruth Sykes helped permanently change the culture of the Lycoming College women’s swimming program when she came to the campus in 1993 from Millersville, Pa. Having won four dual meets in the previous three seasons and suffered through eight straight losing seasons, the Warriors were buoyed immediately by Sykes, who had a team-high 29 individual wins as a freshman while leading the team to a then-school record 12 dual meet wins and setting school-records in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke. As a sophomore, she was even better, posting an NCAA ‘B’ qualifying standard in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:30.54) while winning the first MAC title for the Warriors in 11 years. She followed that by hitting another ‘B’ standard while winning the 100-yard race with a 1:09.75 in the preliminary race. As a junior, she lowered her 200-yard breaststroke time to 2:29.75 while earning first-team all-conference honors and hitting NCAA ‘B’ qualifying standards in both breaststroke events and the 400-yard individual medley. As a senior, she again lowered her 200-yard breaststroke time, earning all-conference honors in both breaststroke events again and reaching the ‘B’ standard for a third time while leading the Warriors to a school-record 13 dual meet wins. In all, Sykes helped the team to a 42-10 dual meet record and three top three finishes at the MAC Championships while reaching the NCAA ‘B’ standard three times in her career. She also left the school with two individual school records and three relay records. Also a two-time MAC Academic Honor Roll selection, Sykes earned the 1997 Pocahontas Award. She is a PH.D. candidate in William & Mary’s computer science department and was inducted into the Lycoming College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.
