Colgate Takes Women’s Crown, Navy Wins On Men’s Side At Patriot League Meet

COLGATE DEFENDS PATRIOT LEAGUE TITLE IN CONVINCING FASHION
More school records, pool records and league records went by the wayside as the Colgate women’s swimming & diving team captured its second consecutive league title, this time in convincing fashion, as the 2009 Patriot League Championships concluded Saturday evening at Kinney Natatorium.

Erin McGraw (Penfield, N.Y.), Ashley Bottger (Weston, Conn.), Emily Murphy (Syracuse, N.Y.), Caren Guyett (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and the Raiders’ 400 free relay each captured league titles in the final day of competition.

Colgate posted 862 points in the three-day event and won the title by 102.5 points over Navy (759.5).  Bucknell placed third with 656.5 points.  Raiders head coach Stephen Jungbluth was honored as the league’s women’s Coach of the Year.

McGraw led four Raiders in the top-10 in the 200 back with a new school, league and pool record.  The sophomore broke all the records with her swim in the preliminary round as she touched with a 1:58.67, which broke Beverly Walker’s former school mark of 2:03.67 in 2006.  Lectie Altman (Bucknell) held the former league record at 2:00.60, while the former Kinney record was 1:59.58 set back in 2004.  McGraw swam a 1:58.77 in the final to win the title over Walker, who placed second with 2:00.82.  The senior swam a personal best 1:59.74 in the preliminary heats.  Sarah Button (Mendham, N.J.) and Erica Derlath (Garden City, N.Y.) finished fourth and eighth respectively with times of 2:01.24 and 2:05.61.  Derlath broke the Colgate freshman record in the preliminary heats with a 2:01.24.

Bottger outdueled Navy’s Thuy-Mi Dinh to win the 100 free in record setting fashion.  The senior broke the school and league records in the opening swim with a 49.89 to be seeded first heading into the finals.  Bottger then shaved .02 seconds off her previous record by winning the title with a 49.87.  Mi Dinh held the former league mark of 49.91 set at last year’s championships.  Lisa Marchi (Scottsdale, Ariz.) finished fourth, while Emily Peck (Brooktondale, N.Y.) was eighth overall with times of 50.86 and 52.29 respectively.

Murphy capped off her career by winning her eighth individual league title in the 200 breast.  The senior posted a 2:13.46 in the finals to break her own school record (2:18.41), the former league record of 2:17.26 set by Aubra Thomas of Navy on February 26, 2005, and the pool record (2:16.17).  Murphy earlier set those records in the preliminaries with a 2:14.30.  Caitlin Curran (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Courtney Callahan (Tarrytown, N.Y.) finished third and sixth respectively with times of 2:17.07 and 2:21.04.

Guyett, Emily Kelly (Potomac, Md.) and Marchi all placed among the top four in the 200 fly.  Guyett ripped off a 2:01.31 in the final to break the school, pool and league records.  The sophomore bested her former record of 2:02.36 set earlier this year.  The former league meet record, 2:03.02 was held by Kelly Zahalka (Navy).  Guyett’s former school mark also served as the former league record. Kelly and Marchi swam times of 2:03.27 and 2:03.52 in the final to finish third and fourth respectively.

Swimming in the final race of the event, Walker, Marchi, Murphy and Bottger combined to break school, pool and league records by winning the 400 free relay.  The foursome posted a 3:20.55, besting the former Colgate mark of 3:25.00 set earlier this season.  Navy held the previous league (3:24.83) and pool (3:26.05) marks.

Derlath, Daly, Kelly all placed among the top five in the 1650.  Derlath shattered her own school and freshman record (16:50.92) by touching with a time of 16:39.72 en route for a second place effort. Daly (17:05.55) and Kelly (17:11.77) placed fourth and fifth, while Erika Mortenson (Chesterfield, Mo.) finished eighth overall with a personal best 17:22.53.
 
COLGATE MEN FINISH FIFTH AT PATRIOT LEAGUE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tucker Gniewek (Mountain Lakes, N.J.), Costas Hadjipateras (New Canaan, Conn.) and Casey Powers (Chappaqua, N.Y.) each set Colgate records as the Raiders closed the 2008-09 season with a fifth-place showing at the Patriot League Swimming & Diving Championships, Saturday evening at Kinney Natatorium.

Gniewek erased the Colgate 100 free record with his fourth-place effort.  The sophomore broke the record in the prelims with a 45.33 before lowering the mark in the finals after touching with a 45.07.  Gniewek was ranked fifth heading into the final.  The previous record was set in 1988 by a Jerome Ducanois (46.32).  Hadjipateras, who finished 12th, erased Gniewek’s freshman record he set last year (46.32) with a 46.20 effort in the “B” final of the event. 

Hadjipateras returned to post a top five effort in the 200 fly.  In the prelims, he swam a 1:51.24 to break James Hadley’s former mark of 1:51.96 set in 2002.  The mark also shaves more than two seconds off his former freshman record of 1:53.63 set earlier this season.

Powers dropped 42 seconds from his seed time en route to an eighth place finish in the 1650.  The freshman posted a 16:00.88, which breaks the school’s freshman mark of 16:12.07 set by Rod Green in 1985.  Powers’ time narrowly missed Colgate’s school record of 15:59.20 established back in the mid 1970s.

Colgate posted 353 points, five more points than it did in last year’s competition.  Navy won the title in convincing fashion posting 1031.5 points, while Bucknell finished a distant second with 635, while Army rounded out the top three with 596.  Lehigh edged the Raiders by 4.5 points for fourth.