Florida Gulf Coast Women And College of Charleston Men Lead After Day One of CCSA Championship.

After day one of the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) Championship, Florida Gulf Coast women’s swimming is in the lead with 298 points, Davidson is in second with 209 points and Gardner-Webb is third at 132.  On the men’s side, College of Charleston is first with 260 points, Davidson is in a close second at 244 and Gardner-Webb holds the third spot at 176.
 
Day one finals of the CCSA Championship started off with the men’s 200-yard freestyle relay with the top finishing school earning the current No. 1 time in the CCSA Top 16.  Finishing first in the event for the men was Davidson, who finished in a time of 1:21.51.  The Wildcats relay team was comprised of Patrick Whitman, Bryan Droll, Brad Carman and Scott Frantz Jr.  Finishing second were the College of Charleston Cougars (Andy Puciaty, Patrick Jones, Preston Parrish and Randy Buchanan), clocking in at 1:23.20.  College of Charleston barely inched past Gardner-Webb (Patrick Elerding, George Partin, Matthew Leonard and Collin Burchins), who finished third at 1:23.96. 

On the women’s side, Florida Gulf Coast (Vicky Cadge, Margie Chamberlin, Rachael Rein and Isabela Mills Pinto) earned the win with a Conference-best time of 1:34.06.  Coming in second was Davidson (Lindsey Martin, Alexa Richardson, Courtney Sanders and Emily Castle), who touched the wall at 1:34.31, and Georgia Southern (Courtney Martz, Ali Campbell, Caroline Bevillard and Katelyn Woolfolk) grabbed the third-place finish with a time of 1:34.87. 
 
In the men’s 500-yard freestyle, Davidson’s Curtis Chaney took home the gold with a Conference record time of 4:26.89.  College of Charleston’s Matthew Sherrier clocked in after Chaney (4:29.90) for second-place, while Davidson’s Merritt Peele time of 4:32.29 was good for third place. The trio now owns the top three spots in the CCSA respectively.  On the women’s side, Florida Gulf Coast grabbed two of the top three finishes, with Leah Daniel clocking in at 4:48.78 for first-place to take over the League record in the event.  Lyn Ann Nelson of North Florida finishing at 4:49.92 for second, FGCU’s Rosy Murray placed third with a time of 4:52.69.
 
In the men’s 200-yard individual medley, College of Charleston notched another top Conference time, with Randy Buchanan touching the wall in 1:47.48.  Davidson’s, Geoff Pietz earned the silver, clocking in behind Buchanan at 1:51.88, while teammate Scott Frantz Jr. finished third with a time of 1:53.79 for third.  For the women, Florida Gulf Coast took home the gold, silver and bronze with Vicky Cadge finishing first (2:02.69), Margrete Ulvestad touching for second (2:03.39) and Rachael Rein coming in third (2:04.94).  All three swimmers now hold the record for top times in the CCSA.
 
In the 50-yard freestyle, Davidson’s Patrick Whitman grabbed the gold and Bryan Droll the silver completing the race in a time of 20.66 and 20.79, respectively for second and third places times in the CCSA.  Gardner-Webb’s Patrick Elerding secured third place, with a time of 21.16.  Davidson’s Lindsey Martin garnered first-place accolades in the women’s 50-yard free with a time of 23.04.  Gardner-Webb’s Corey Hughey came in second at 23.46 and Davidson’s Emily Castle rounded out the top three, touching the wall at 23.58. 
 
In the women’s 1-meter dive, Florida Gulf Coast’s Karmin McNamara took home the gold with a score of 251.80, and Gaby Shaw earned silver with 235.80.  Davidson’s Linnea Buttermore finished third (228.65). 
 
In the men’s 3-meter dive, Davidson’s Ben Lane took home first with a score of 293.75, while College of Charleston earned the second and third-place finishes, with Jordan Toopes earning second (140.60) and Jeffrey Jankowski finishing third (137.30).
 
Closing out day one, the College of Charleston 400-yard medley relay team of Chris Rogers, Randy Buchanan, Greg Greer and Matthew Sherrier captured first-place in a CCSA record time of 3:21.81.  Coming in second was Davidson (Scott Frantz Jr., Geoff Peitz, Brad Carman and Curtis Chaney), clocking in at 3:23.38 and closing out the race in third was Gardner-Webb  (Samuel Woods, Casey Brutus, Patrick Elerding, and George Partin) finishing in 3:24.86.  On the women’s side, Gardner-Webb’s team of Tory Bryant, Stepheni Stadnik, Rachel Warkentin and Corey Hughey placed first with a time of 3:47.32, touching the wall barely before Florida Gulf Coast (Viktoria Hyddmark, Vicky Cadge, Margie Chamberlin and Rachael Rein) who finished second, clocking in at 3:47.56.  North Florida (Emily Shaw, Taylor Crosby, Caroline Poling and Lyn Ann Nelson) placed third with a time of 3:51.40. All three relay teams recorded top times for the CCSA.
 
The CCSA Championships will resume tomorrow morning at 10:00am.

VMI School Records Fall at Day One of CCSA Championship
The VMI women’s swimming and diving team established two new school records while the men’s team sits in fourth place after day one at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) Championships, being held at the Gabrielsen Natatorium on the campus of the University of Georgia. 
 
Junior Will Rowcliffe posted the Keydets’ most impressive showing of the day, placing eighth in the 50 freestyle.  In the prelims, Rowcliffe shattered his personal best by four-tenths of a second with a 21.31 showing, then followed it up with a 21.52 clocking in the finals.  Rowcliffe’s prelim time came up two-tenths of a second shy of the oldest remaining record on the VMI books, a 21.10 swam by Joe Cafarella back in 1978.
 
For the women, sophomore Chelsea Nugent established a new school record in the 50 freestyle, coming in with a 26.79 to best her own mark by over three-tenths of a second.  Also competing in the event were freshman Veronica Lentsch (28.10) and Stephanie Ortiz (30.02), each of whom set lifetime bests.
 
Sophomore Briana Allard placed 15th in one-meter diving with her score of 127.00.  Allard also contributed to a record-setting 200 freestyle relay time, combining with Nugent, Lentsch, and Ortiz to swim a 1:56.45, besting the school record set earlier this season by nearly a second-and-a-half.
 
The Keydet men were led by freshmen in a pair of other individual events, as James Goodwillie made his Championship debut in the 200 individual medley, placing 15th with a 1:59.54 clocking.  Benji Howard, meanwhile, led four Keydets in the consolation finals of the 500 freestyle, placing 12th with a time of 4:58.29.
 
The 200 freestyle relay team of juniors Justin Ferrell, Rowcliffe and Tristan Euritt and freshman Matt Elliott placed fourth with a time of 1:28.18, just three-tenths of a second shy of the 17-year old school record in the event.  In the 400 medley relay, the teaming of freshman Matt Dale, senior Dan Bogert, Euritt and Ferrell placed fifth with a 3:42.01.
 
In the men’s competition, College of Charleston leads the way with 227 points, just ahead of Davidson’s 224 points.  Gardner-Webb sits in third with 176 points, ahead of VMI’s 83 points, Howard’s 55 points and Florida A&M’s 54 points.  For the women, Florida Gulf Coast’s 237 points sit ahead of Davidson’s 179 points and Gardner-Webb’s 132 points.  The Keydets (12 pts.) trail Florida A&M (22 pts.) and sit in 12th overall.
 
The action resumes on Friday morning at the Gabrielsen Natatorium.