Buffalo, N.Y. - (Feb. 20, 2009) - After setting numerous records over the first two days of competition at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Swimming and Diving Championships at the Flickinger Center in Buffalo, the Rams wasted little time in getting to work on the third day, setting three school marks in the morning preliminaries, while winning two events in the evening finals.
Freshman Courtney Collyer and junior Caitlin Napoli were the event winners for the Rams, with Collyer taking first in the 400 IM in school record a time of 4:22.16 and Napoli winning the 200 freestyle in a school record time of 1:49.55 as each athlete earned First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors. Collyer shattered the old record of 4:29.78 set by Loraine Grein in 1993, the oldest women's record at Fordham, while Napoli broke her own record of 1:49.97, which she set in a morning preliminary, breaking the two-day old record of Tressa Dunn, who clocked a 1:51.61 over the first 200 meters in the 800 freestyle relay on Wednesday night.
Also earning All-Conference honors for the Fordham women was Kelly Bunster, who placed second in the 100 fly in a school record time of 55.43 and Dunn, who took second in the 200 free in a time of 1:50.60. The Fordham 100 fly record was being rewritten all day as Katelynn Gray set a school mark in the event with a 56.98 clocking in the morning preliminaries, but her record was quickly snapped by Bunster, who went 55.88 in another 100 fly preliminary a few minutes later. Gray originally broke the former mark of 57.20, set by Erika Newell in 2004.
The women's 400 medley relay team of Christina Cosentino, Marshall, Bunster and Dunn also earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors with a second place finish in a school record time of 3:46.14. The time surpassed the former school record of 3:51.86 set last winter and also bettered the A-10 record of 3:46.54 set by Richmond last year (Richmond won the event in a meet record time of 3:40.34).
The men's 400 medley relay also set a school record as the team of Billy Colton, Matthew Grabiak, Ryan Coombs and Justin Coombs placed sixth in a time of 3:23.95, breaking the old mark of 3:24.93 set in 1996.
Other record setters on the day included Nicole Marshall, who was third in the 200 breaststroke in 1:03.85, breaking her own school mark of 1:05.45 set in 2007.
The Fordham women solidified their hold on second place in the team competition as the Rams have 373.5 points, 72 ahead of Massachusetts. Richmond leads the team competition with 502 points followed by Fordham (373.5), Massachusetts (301.5), Duquesne (277.5), La Salle (269.5), St. Bonaventure (227), Xavier (201), Saint Louis (178), George Washington (145) and Rhode Island (133).
In men's team competition, the Rams sit in fifth place with 214 points. Massachusetts leads the men's team competition with 453.5 points, followed by St. Bonaventure (365), Xavier (310), Duquesne (302), Fordham (253.5), La Salle (214), George Washington (212) and Saint Louis (207).
Also scoring for the women on day three were Andrea Krok, who was fourth on the three meter board (227.70), Cosentino, who took fifth in the 100 back (56.67 - season best), Elizabeth Dorger, who placed ninth on the three meter board (203.65), Gray, who was 11th in the 100 fly (57.12), Alexandra Alessi, who took 11th in the 200 free (1:53.36) and Marina Montoya, who was 13th in the 400 IM (4:31.00).
Also scoring for the men on day three were Colton, who placed third in the 100 back (50.61 - season best), Ryan Coombs, who was fourth in the 200 free (1:40.27 - season best), Robert Gitman, who was fifth in the 100 back (51.09), Justin Coombs, who placed eighth in the 200 free (1:41.91), Eric Prendergast, who won the consolation final in the 400 IM (ninth overall - 4:07.55 - season best), Jon Castaldo, who was 13th in the 400 IM (4:09.51) and Grabiak and Sean McManus, who were 15th (58.56 - season best) and 16th (58.64), respectively, in the 100 breaststroke.
The championship concludes on Saturday with morning trials at 10:30 a.m. and finals at 6:30 p.m.
