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Women's Swimming and Diving

Courtney Collyer and Ryan Coombs Win Events at 2009 Atlantic 10 Swimming & Diving Championships

Buffalo, N.Y. - (Feb. 21, 2009) - After three successful, record-filled days at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Swimming and Diving Championships, there was no reason for the Fordham University men's and women's squads to cool off on the final day of competition. And they didn't, as the two teams combined to win two events and set one Atlantic 10 and six school records at the Flickinger Center on the fourth day of competition.

The success led the Fordham women to a second place team finish, its best ever finish at the Atlantic 10 Championships, while the men placed fourth. Prior to this year, the best finish for a Fordham women's team was a third place showing in 2007.

For the women, Courtney Collyer won her second event of the meet, taking gold in the 200 butterfly in Atlantic 10-record setting time after winning the 400 IM on Thursday night. For her exploits at the championship, Collyer was named the Atlantic 10 Female Rookie of the Meet, the first Fordham woman to earn the honor, while head coach Steve Potsklan was named the Women's Coach of the Year, his first A-10 honor.

Collyer took first in the 200 fly in 1:59.96, surpassing the former A-10 record of 2:01.01 set by Renee Riccio of West Virginia in 1993 as well as shattering the Fordham mark of 2:04.44 held by Caitlin Napoli (2007).

The Rams took the first two spots in the 200 fly as Napoli finished second, earning Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors, in a time of 2:00.79 in what would have been a conference and school mark if not for Collyer.

Leading the way for the men was Ryan Coombs, who won the 200 butterfly in a season-best time of 1:50.03 to earn First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors.

Also earning All-Conference honors for the women was Tressa Dunn and the women's 400 freestyle relay as each finished second to garner Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors. Dunn took second in the 100 freestyle in a school-record time of 51.18, bettering Erika Newell's former school mark of 51.94 set in 2005, while Dunn was also the first leg of the 400 freestyle relay, teaming with Kelly Bunster, Alexandra Alessi and Napoli, to finish second in a school record time of 3:24.56, snapping the hold mark of 3:31.55 set in 2005.

On the men's side, the 400 freestyle relay team of Ryan Coombs, Billy Colton, Eric Prendergast and Justin Coombs earned Second Team All-Conference honors with a second place showing in a school record time of 3:01.54. They smashed the former record of 3:04.10 set in 1979, the oldest Fordham men's relay record on the books.

Also setting records on the final day of competition were Christina Cosentino and Nicole Marshall. Marshall placed fourth in the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:19.21, improving on her former school record of 2:19.83 set last winter. Cosentino finished sixth in the 200 backstroke in a time of 2:02.19 but it was her preliminary time of 2:01.94 that set the school mark, surpassing Newell's former record of 2:02.27 set in 2005.


The Fordham women finished in second place with 549.5 points, behind Richmond, who won its eighth straight Atlantic 10 title with 742 points. Duquesne placed third (404.5) followed by Massachusetts (398.5), La Salle (388.5), St. Bonaventure (340), Xavier (284), Saint Louis (197), George Washington (190) and Rhode Island (157).

The Fordham men placed fourth with 415 points. Massachusetts won the team title with a score of (720.5), followed by St. Bonaventure (540), Duquesne (440.5), Fordham (415), Xavier (411), Saint Louis (314), La Salle (313) and George Washington (307).

Also scoring for the men were Benjamin Otto, who took third on the three meter board (281.60), Justin Coombs, who was third in the 100 free (45.60 - season best), Robert Gitman, who placed fourth in the 200 backstroke (1:50.98 - season best), Billy Colton, who was fifth in the 200 backstroke (1:51.65), Lucien Monson, who finished seventh in the 1650 free (16:10.98 - season best), Tim Gusick, who took eighth in the 1650 free (16:12.72), Eric Prendergast, who finished tenth in the 100 free (46.50 - season best), Dan Swensen, who was 12th in the 200 backstroke (1:53.26 - season best), Matthew Grabiak, Sean McManus and Giuseppe Saffos, who were 13th (2:08.11 - season best), 14th (2:08.80) and 15th (2:10.35) in the 200 breaststroke, respectively, and Anthony Giovannone, who placed 14th on the three meter board (197.20).

Also scoring for the women were, Katelynn Gray, who was fifth in the 200 fly (2:05.87), Kelly Bunster, who took fifth in the 100 free (51.50), Alexandra Alessi, who placed ninth in the 100 free (52.05), Emily Wojdyla, who was tenth in the 1650 free (17:31.01 - season best) and eleventh in the 200 backstroke (2:04.60), Elena Muñoz, who placed 13th in the 200 breaststroke (2:25.81), Kristin Colton, who was 14th in the 200 backstroke (2:07.15), Danielle Forrest, who finished 15th in the 200 fly (2:09.22) and Marina Montoya, who was 16th in the 200 breaststroke (2:28.48).

Fordham 2009 All-Atlantic 10 Performers

First Team
Courtney Collyer - 200 fly
Courtney Collyer - 400 IM
Caitlin Napoli - 200 free
Caitlin Napoli - 500 free
Women's 800 Freestyle Relay (Tressa Dunn, Courtney Collyer, Kelly Bunster, Caitlin Napoli)

Second Team
Kelly Bunster - 100 fly
Tressa Dunn - 100 free
Tressa Dunn - 200 free
Caitlin Napoli - 200 fly
Women's 400 Freestyle Relay (Tressa Dunn, Kelly Bunster, Alexandra Alessi, Caitlin Napoli)
Women's 200 Medley Relay (Christina Cosentino, Nicole Marshall, Kelly Bunster, Tressa Dunn)
Women's 400 Medley Relay (Christina Cosentino, Nicole Marshall, Kelly Bunster, Tressa Dunn)

Atlantic 10 Championship Records Set by Fordham Swimmers
Courtney Collyer - 200 fly:1:59.96
Women's 800 Freestyle Relay (Tressa Dunn, Courtney Collyer, Kelly Bunster, Caitlin Napoli) - 7:24.25

Fordham School Records Set at Atlantic 10 Championship
Kelly Bunster - 50 free (23.71)
Tressa Dunn - 100 free (51.27)
Caitlin Napoli - 200 free (1:49.55)
Caitlin Napoli - 500 free (4:52.07)
Christina Cosentino - 200 back (2:01.94)
Nicole Marshall - 100 breast (1:03.85)
Nicole Marshall - 200 breast (2:19.21)
Kelly Bunster - 100 fly (55.43)
Courtney Collyer - 200 fly (1:59.96)
Nicole Marshall - 200 IM (2:03.82)
Courtney Collyer - 400 IM (4:22.16)
Women's 200 Freestyle Relay (Christina Cosentino, Courtney Collyer, Alexandra Alessi, Caitlin Napoli) - 1:35.85
Women's 400 Freestyle Relay (Tressa Dunn, Kelly Bunster, Alexandra Alessi, Caitlin Napoli) - 3:24.56
Women's 800 Freestyle Relay (Tressa Dunn, Courtney Collyer, Kelly Bunster, Caitlin Napoli) - 7:24.25
Women's 200 Medley Relay (Christina Cosentino, Nicole Marshall, Kelly Bunster, Tressa Dunn) - 1:43.51
Women's 400 Medley Relay (Christina Cosentino, Nicole Marshall, Kelly Bunster, Tressa Dunn) - 3:46.14

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Players Mentioned

Alexandra Alessi

Alexandra Alessi

Free/Fly
Sophomore
Kelly Bunster

Kelly Bunster

Fly/Free
Freshman
Courtney Collyer

Courtney Collyer

IM/Breast/Fly
Freshman
Kristin Colton

Kristin Colton

Back/Free
Senior
Christina Cosentino

Christina Cosentino

Back
Sophomore
Tressa Dunn

Tressa Dunn

Sprint Free/Fly/Back
Junior
Danielle Forrest

Danielle Forrest

Fly
Freshman
Katelynn Gray

Katelynn Gray

Fly
Junior
Nicole Marshall

Nicole Marshall

Breast/IM
Junior
Marina Montoya

Marina Montoya

IM/Fly
Junior

Players Mentioned

Alexandra Alessi

Alexandra Alessi

Sophomore
Free/Fly
Kelly Bunster

Kelly Bunster

Freshman
Fly/Free
Courtney Collyer

Courtney Collyer

Freshman
IM/Breast/Fly
Kristin Colton

Kristin Colton

Senior
Back/Free
Christina Cosentino

Christina Cosentino

Sophomore
Back
Tressa Dunn

Tressa Dunn

Junior
Sprint Free/Fly/Back
Danielle Forrest

Danielle Forrest

Freshman
Fly
Katelynn Gray

Katelynn Gray

Junior
Fly
Nicole Marshall

Nicole Marshall

Junior
Breast/IM
Marina Montoya

Marina Montoya

Junior
IM/Fly