Change seems to be the operative word for Butler County area swimming teams this season.

The Butler and Knoch programs have new coaches in Jeff Armstrong and Stephanie Dawson, respectively.

Armstrong replaces Amber Schmeider, who spent the previous four years as head coach, while Dawson takes over for Tim O'Toole, who also coached four years.

The Seneca Valley girls team will try to rebuild after finishing second in the WPIAL Class AAA Championships and fifth at states.

They lost a pair of Division I recruits who helped the team win five of 11 swimming events at the WPIAL finals.

The Grove City boys team won 12 meets and captured the region title, but a strong freshman class attempts to replace key losses.

Also, the Mars boys squad looks to improve on last year's 8-6 record, the first winning season in the program's history.

The following are preview capsules for the upcoming season.

Coach:Jeff Armstrong, first year2004-05 record:4-7 (girls); 2-9 (boys)Key returners:Girls-Senior Jessica Schnur (diving) and Beth Newell (freestyle, first season since freshman year); juniors Sarah Clouse (breaststroke), Ellen Crummy (breast), Molly Evans (free) and Jessica Vernon (I.M.).Boys-Senior Matt Galante (free), junior Cliff McKee (utility, back) and sophomore Mike Coulter (back, butterfly)Outlook:The girls team return several key juniors, so Armstrong has high hopes for next year, but he's definitely not conceded this season."We're going to get through this year with a new coach and new training. We'll do well this year, but we're pointing to next year when all these kids can do some damage," he said.The girls have a few more swimmers out than last season and 'they're pretty solid."For the boys, the lone senior on the team is Galante, so the rest of the squad is made up of underclassmen, including freshman Patrick O'Toole."We have some freshmen coming in, so other than that everyone else is a sophomore or junior. We have a couple of years to work with them," Armstrong said.

Coach:Gregg McQueen, second year2004-05 record:2-10 girls; no record (boys)Key returners:Girls-Senior Lorie Beth Palko (free); sophomores Andrea McQueen (free, breast) and Gail Erickson (back, relays).Boys-Senior Joel Erickson (fly)Outlook:Andrea McQueen finished second in the WPIAL in the 100 free and fourth in the 100 breast at the WPIAL finals and was sixth in the latter event at the PIAAs.The girls placed eighth at the WPIAL Class AA championships with just five swimmers."We have six girls on the team and two boys. If we had a pool, we'd have a lot more kids out. You'd really know who wants to swim," McQueen said."Last year, everyone on the team qualified for the WPIAL whether it was as an individual or a relay. The girls medley relay team went to states."Two freshmen will join the team as will junior Maurielle Blake, a soccer player and track athlete for the Yellowjackets.

Coach:Stephanie Dawson, first year2004-05 record:N/AKey returners:Girls-Include seniors Nicole Vogus, Bethany Legin, Shannon Walsh, Christina Rickerd, Rachelle Rankin and Margaret Blake.Boys-Include seniors Mike McCoy and Stephen EdwardsOutlook:The girls boast 18 swimmers on the team for Dawson, a star at Westminster College who coached Penn Hills last season."We're definitely building. Technically, there wasn't a team when I was here. We had about five or six independent swimmers. My senior year, maybe eight," Dawson said."It's nice to see the program build up. This is a wonderful group of kids and they're dedicated to the sport."The boys have seven swimmers, including some freshmen."That's not enough for two relays, but the team is building. I'd like to see the kids improve themselves and achieve personal goals. I think, in the process of working hard and having fun, we'll swim hard and qualify for the WPIAL," the coach added.

Coach:Gail Quigley, second year2004-05 record:4-14 (girls); 8-6 (boys)Key returners:Girls-Junior Claire Pacey (I.M., free) and sophomore Chloe Pierre (breast).Boys-Senior Phil Karavlan (I.M, back); juniors Jess Gavin (free) and Dave Pierre (breast, free)Outlook:The girls will have three good freshmen on the squad to help bolster the team."This will be a much better season. ... We had a scrimmage last week and it seems like the freshmen have a lot of team spirit," Quigley said.The boys have just eight swimmers, but are coming off the best year in the young program's history."I think we'll do about the same as last year. We lost Dan Pierre and we just created a filler roster. We were able to move others around last year. This year, we'll put everyone where they're strong," the coach said.

Coach:Tom Donati, ninth year2004-05 record:10-3 (girls); 9-4 boys)Key returners:Girls-Senior Lauren Bezier (breast); juniors Kelly Connolly (free); Elyse Dobrick (fly) and Marissa Behning (back); sophomore Rose Snyder (free).Boys-Seniors Ben Guttman (Breast) and Matt Lippert (free); junior Scott Bowser (breast)Outlook:Having lost Stacie Safritt (Pitt) and Kylie Gamelier (Toledo) will be tough, but the Raiders girls squad will still set their sights high."Those are two big pair of shoes to fill. It's definitely a rebuilding year, a retooling year. We're looking to make another jump next year," Donati said.Dobrick and Connolly were members of the WPIAL champion 200 medley relay team and Connolly and Snyder the 400 free relay."We'll be in the middle of the pack in the section and at WPIALs. There's no pressure, that's for sure," the coach said.The boys team's biggest loss was Drew Snyder, who know swims at Grove City College."The boys are working hard and I'm looking forward to seeing them improve. We have 15 guys and 17 girls and it's a nice little mix. Both teams are young," the coach added.

Coach:Kirby Burns, third year2004-05 record:3-9 (girls); 2-10 (boys)Key returners:Girls-Senior Lauren Tibbens (back), Britley Raabe (breast) and Rachel Opp (free); juniors Vicky Kosirek (back, fly) and Bethany Johnston (free, I.M); sophomore Whitney Snyder (back). Boys-Senior Peter Eilenfeldt and junior Jeremy McClimansOutlook:Tibbens qualified for the district meet and Raabe just missed qualifying by the narrowest of margins, so the Rockets' girls team is looking to make up some ground this season."I hope we definitely improve our record. There are four very strong teams in our league: Grove City, Titusville, Franklin and Oil City. We'll definitely make progress on those teams," Burns said."I don't think we can beat them this year, maybe next year."As for the boys, Burns knows they will not be as strong as a year ago since they lost five athletes, including four to graduation."I would hope from these guys a little improvement, but they are a little inexperienced," the coach said.A few younger swimmers to watch will be sophomore Nathan Eilenfeldt and freshmen Jacob Johnston, Andrew Opalewski and Chuck Davies.