Women’s Swimming & Diving Finishes Fourth at A-10 Championship

Complete Results | Photo Gallery
 
Geneva, Ohio – (February 17, 2018) – The 2018 Atlantic 10 Swimming & Diving Championship came to an end at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio, on Saturday.  In the women's championship, Duquesne captured its first league title, scoring 567 points, outlasting second place Richmond with 558.
 
George Washington took third with 447.5 with Fordham moving up a spot from the last two days into fourth with 432.5 points.  St. Bonaventure was fifth (420) followed by Massachusetts (355.5), George Mason (258), Saint Louis (205), La Salle (190), Rhode Island (162), and Davidson (129.5).
 
Fordham move up to fourth was highlighted by a pair of event wins and a second place finish in the 400 freestyle relay.
 
The final night of finals kicked off with a bang, as freshman Bayley Frierson won the 1650 freestyle event in 16:47.79, followed by Kate Magill in fourth place (16:56.92) and Erin McBride in 15^th place (17:18.66).
 
Next up was the 200 backstroke where two Rams found the scoring column.  Paulina Watson took fifth in the "A" final in 2:00.25, while Cat Alabanza was 12^th overall in 2:02.04.
 
Caitlin McNary led a trio of scorers in the 100 freestyle event.  She won the "B" final for ninth place overall in 50.73 seconds, followed by Tara Brunner in 10^th (51.03) and Samantha McDonald in 12^th (51.38).

 
Nele Albers was the lone scorer for Fordham in the 200 breaststroke event, taking seventh in 2:18.92.
 
Then in the 200 butterfly, Amelia Bullock became the third Atlantic 10 champion for the Rams in 2018, winning the 200 butterfly in an Atlantic 10 and school record time of 1:58.45, breaking the previous mark of 1:58.46 by Megan Polaha in 2016.  Her time was also an NCAAA "B" cut time.
 
The Rams were unable to score in the final individual event, the three-meter dive, as Stephanie Kerkeles finished 19^th with a score of 208.15, while Molly Dunn was 22^nd with a total of 195.00.
 
The final event of the championship was the 400 freestyle relay, where Fordham's team of Brunner, McDonald, Bullock, and McNary earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors by taking silver in a school record time of 3:22.67, breaking the 2012 record of 3:23.70.
 
Here is a recap of award winners, records, and NCAA cut times for Fordham at the Atlantic 10 Championship:
 
Atlantic 10 Champions/First Team All-Atlantic 10
Amelia Bullock (200 Butterfly)
Bayley Frierson (1650 Freestyle)
200 Freestyle Relay (Michelle Martin, Tara Brunner, Amelia Bullock, Samantha McDonald)
 
Second Team All-Atlantic 10
400 Freestyle Relay (Tara Brunner, Samantha McDonald, Amelia Bullock, Caitlin McNary)
 
Atlantic 10 Record/Atlantic 10 Meet Record
Amelia Bullock – 200 Butterfly - 1:58.45
 
School Records
Michelle Martin – 50 Freestyle – 22.98
Amelia Bullock – 200 Butterfly - 1:58.45
200 Freestyle Relay (Michelle Martin, Tara Brunner, Amelia Bullock, Samantha McDonald) – 1:32.04
400 Freestyle Relay (Tara Brunner, Samantha McDonald, Amelia Bullock, Caitlin McNary) – 3:22.67
 
NCAA "B" Cut Times
Michelle Martin – 50 Freestyle – 22.98
Amelia Bullock – 200 Butterfly - 1:58.45