Results
Buffalo, N.Y. - (Feb. 18, 2010) - It was a positive day for the Fordham men's swimming & diving team, as the group stayed within striking distance of the top three at the 2010 Atlantic 10 Swimming & Diving Championship, held at the Flickinger Center in Buffalo, New York.
Fordham is currently fourth out of eight teams with a team score of 152.5. Massachusetts has a commanding lead with 314 points, with St. Bonaventure and Duquesne tied for second with 191 points. La Salle (141), Xavier (137.5), Saint Louis (102), and George Washington (96) finish the rest of the championship field.
The night of finals started with the 500 freestyle, which the Rams were unfortunately shut out of the scoring despite three season-best performances by Lucien Monson, Andrew Buemi, and Dan Swensen. Monson was 20th overall in 4:44.66 with Buemi taking 25th in 4:47.97. Swensen had the biggest improvement, shaving almost 15 seconds off his previous best time this season at 4:49.84, which was good for 29th.
The next event saw three Rams in the finals of the 200 individual medley. Eric Prendergast and Matthew Grabiak placed second and third respectively in the "B" final of the event posting season-best times of 1:53.44 and 1:55.24.
Robert Gitman qualified for the "A" final with a season-best time of 1:54.67 in the preliminaries, and later finished eighth overall in the final in 1:54.94.
The championship then turned to the sprinters in the 50 freestyle, where four Rams found their way into the finals. Justin Coombs and Devon Morris placed second and eighth in the "B" final, as Coombs posted a season-best time of 21.00 seconds, while Morris clocked in at 21.39 seconds.
Later, it was Billy Colton and Ryan Coombs, who posted season-best times of 20.87 and 20.89 seconds, respectively, in the preliminaries to qualify for the "A" final. Colton eventually placed sixth overall in the event in 20.93 seconds, with Coombs taking seventh in 20.94 seconds.
The four Fordham finalists in the 50 freestyle weren't done yet, as they finished the night with a bronze medal performance in the 200 freestyle relay in a season-best time of 1:22.84.
Day three competition at the Flickinger Center at 10:30 AM on Friday with preliminary heats in the 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, and the men's three meter diving competition.
