Buffalo, N.Y. - (Feb. 19, 2010) - The Fordham men's swimming & diving team will have a chance at its best ever finish on the final day of competition as they remained fourth following day three at the 2010 Atlantic 10 Swimming & Diving Championship, held at the Flickinger Center in Buffalo, New York.
Though Massachusetts (593.5) and St. Bonaventure (372.5) seem to be pulling away, the chase for third is within Fordham's reach. Duquesne is currently third with 327 points, followed by Fordham (306.5), La Salle (295.5), Xavier (260), Saint Louis (195), and George Washington (138).
The night of finals started in the 400 individual medley, as Jon Castaldo and Eric Prendergast found their way into the finals. Castaldo placed seventh in the "B" final in a time of 4:14.13, while Prendergast placed sixth in the "A" final in a time of 4:05.44.
The next event was the 100 butterfly, where Ryan Coombs qualified fourth for the "A" final, while Devon Morris was 15th overall, getting him into the "B" final. Morris tied for third in the "B" race in 51.27 seconds, while Coombs took fourth in the "A" final, clocking in at 49.90 seconds.
In the 200 freestyle, Justin Coombs was the lone Ram in the final, placing fourth in the "A" final in a time of 1:40.90.
Fordham increased its chances of moving up the leaderboard with the 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke, as three Rams qualified for the finals in each event.
In the 100 breaststroke, Michael DiDonato won the "B" final in a time of 57.36 seconds with Sean McManus placing fifth in the same race in 58.55. Matthew Grabiak rounded out the finalists, finishing eighth in the "A" final in 57.81 seconds.
In the 100 backstroke, Billy Colton and Robert Gitman qualified for the "A" final, while Dan Swensen snuck into the "B" final, where he tied for sixth in 51.94 seconds. In the "A" final, Gitman and Colton placed third and fourth, respectively in times of 50.66 and 50.72 seconds.
The competition then turned to diving, where Benjamin Otto made the finals of the three-meter competition, where he took eighth overall with a score of 240.35. Tim Landau-Smith was 14th overall with a score of 177.45.
The final event was the 400 medley relay, where the Rams broke the school record, set last year. Gitman, DiDonato, and the Coombs brothers took bronze in a time of 3:22.39.
The championship will conclude on Saturday with day four at the Flickinger Center beginning at 10:30 AM with preliminary heats in the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, and the women's three meter diving competition. The finals of those events plus the 1650 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay will finish the championship.
