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Fordham Women Claim Second at the 2012 Atlantic 10 Swimming & Diving Championship
Feb. 25, 2012
Buffalo, N.Y. - After four days of competition, the Fordham women's swimming and diving team placed second overall at the 2012 Atlantic 10 Championship, held at the Flickinger Center in Buffalo, New York. The Rams had another stellar performance on the last day, highlighted by a fourth event win and three more school records broken. Richmond won the team title with a score of 751 points with Fordham in second at 557. La Salle took third with 476 points, followed by Massachusetts (434), Rhode Island (257), Duquesne (256), St. Bonaventure (249.5), Xavier (245), George Washington (233.5), and Saint Louis (174). The last day of finals began with the 1650 freestyle, where four Rams scored in the top 16. Kara Field was the top finisher, earning bronze with a time of 17:01.78, followed by Frances Warren in 10th at 17:25.19. Victoria McGovern placed 13th in 17:44.55 with Miranda Morton taking 14th in 17:46.18. Next up was the 200 backstroke, where Brienne Ryan finished second overall in an NCAA "B" cut time of 1:57.72 to earn Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors. Spencer Chappell also made the "A" final, taking fourth in 2:01.42, while Alexandra Wessel placed third (11th overall) in the consolation final in 2:04.61. In the 100 freestyle, two Rams made the consolation final, as Alana Biagioli took 14th overall in 52.33 seconds, while Kelly Bunster tied for 15th in 52.50 seconds.
The last individual swimming event was the 200 butterfly, which saw senior Courtney Collyer accomplish a rare feat, as she defended her Atlantic 10 title for the third straight year, winning the event for the fourth time in an Atlantic 10 record and NCAA "B" cut time of 1:59.42. She broke her own record of 1:59.96, set back in 2009. In addition to Collyer, Warren placed fifth in the final with a time of 2:01.97, while Aurelia O'Keefe won the "B" final in a time of 2:05.57. Shannon Jones was the final scorer, placing 11th overall in 2:06.18. The final diving event then took place as Andrea Krok and Brittany Salas qualified for the finals. Krok took bronze with a score of 245.95, while Salas placed sixth with a total of 238.35. Elizabeth Dorger also scored in the event, taking ninth (215.30). The last event of the championship was the 400 freestyle relay, as Fordham's group of Ryan, Biagioli, Bunster, and Collyer earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors, placing second in a school record time of 3:23.70, which is also an NCAA "B" cut time. The time just edged the previous mark of 3:23.72, set in 2010 by Tressa Dunn, Bunster, Ryan, and Caitlin Napoli. In addition, Ryan's lead off leg of 50.62 seconds broke the Fordham school record for the 100 freestyle. It was 51.04, set by Dunn in 2010.
First Team All-Atlantic 10 Second Team All-Atlantic 10 Atlantic 10 Records Fordham Records |
