Florida Gulf Coast Women And College of Charleston Men Capture CCSA Titles

The College of Charleston men and Florida Gulf Coast women won 2009 CCSA Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday afternoon on the campus of the University of Georgia at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga.  The Cougars picked up a total of 886 points to win the overall men’s crown.  The Eagles notched a total of 887 points to pick up the title.

Davidson notched 803 points to finish second, followed by Gardner-Webb with 640 points.  Howard finished fourth with 279 points.  VMI racked up 275 points to finish fifth, while Florida A&M rounded out the list with 106 points for the men.
 
Davidson notched 653 points to finish second, followed by Georgia Southern with 472 points.  Gardner-Webb finished fourth with 457 points, North Florida fifth (435) and College of Charleston, sixth (237).  Campbell posted 190 points to finish seventh, while Radford was eighth with 128 points.  Howard (122), North Carolina A&T (79)), VMI (52) and Florida A&M (42) rounded out the list for the women.
 
College of Charleston’s Randy Buchanan picked up Most Outstanding Swimmer honors as he notched two Conference top times, first in the 100-yard breaststroke, earning an NCAA Division I B cut touching the wall in 1:47.48, followed by a 54.69 in the 200-yard individual medley, for his second gold medal.  Saturday, Buchanan set the CCSA record again in the 200-yard breaststroke, touching the wall in 1:59.10 for his third gold of the Championship.  Davidson’s Curtis Chaney was named the Most Outstanding Freshman as he took home the gold in the 500-yard freestyle, with a Conference record time of 4:26.89.  On day two, Chaney won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:37.72 and won his third gold medal on Saturday, swimming the 100-free in 45.78.  Teammate Ben Lane garnered Most Outstanding Diver accolades as he took home first in the 3-meter dive with a score of 293.75, and grabbed the gold medal with a Conference record point total of 285.10 in the 1-meter event. 
 
Florida Gulf Coast freshman Vicky Cadge, took home Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer, as well as Outstanding Freshman honors as she won the 200-yard Individual Medley finishing first with a Conference record time of 2:02.69 in day one if the Championships and swam a CCSA best 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.60) the following day.  Saturday, Cadge broke the Conference record for the third time, winning the gold in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:18.96.  Teammate Karmin McNamara dove her way to Most Outstanding Diver honors with top finishes in the women’s 1-meter dive, taking home the gold with a season-best score of 251.80, and earning second-place on the 3-meter with 250.40 points
 
Florida Gulf Coast coach, Neal Studd took home Women’s Coach of the Year. College of Charleston coach, Bruce Zimmerman earned for his second-straight year, the Men’s Coach of the Year award.  In addition, Florida Gulf Coast’s Patty Stringham grabbed Female Diving Coach of the Year, while Davidson’s Aaron Hintz and College of Charleston’s Mike Diamond earned co-Male Diving Coach of the Year Accolades. 

Men’s Team Places Fifth at CCSA Championships; Women Take 11th
The VMI men’s swimming & diving team placed fifth and the women’s team placed 11th at the final day of the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) Championships, held at the Gabrielsen Natatorium on the campus of the University of Georgia. 
 
The men were once again paced by freshman James Goodwillie, who bested his own 200 backstroke record with a 1:55.43 in the consolation finals, placing ninth in the event. 
 
The Keydets got a 10th-place showing in the 200 butterfly from junior Tristan Euritt, where he swam a personal-best 2:07.03.  VMI also got 11th-place finishes from junior Will Rowcliffe in the 100 freestyle, coming up just two-tenths off the varsity record with his 47.43 clocking, and senior Dan Bogert in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:14.95.  Senior Trevor Stanco also placed 11th in the 1650 freestyle, where he turned in an 18:28.25 clocking to lead a trio of Keydet competitors. 
 
With VMI and Howard tied in the team competition for fourth place entering the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, the Keydets managed only a fifth-place finish, coming in nine seconds behind the Bison in third place.  The teaming of Rowcliffe, Euritt, junior Justin Ferrell and freshman Matt Elliott swam a 3:15.94 in the event.
 
For the women, the relay team of sophomore Chelsea Nugent, senior Stephanie Ortiz, sophomore Lizanne Carlos and freshman Veronica Lentsch also established a new school record in the 400 freestyle relay, turning in a time of 4:16.20, besting the old mark by over 11 seconds.
 
Nugent paced the women in the individual events with a 58.56 showing in the 100 freestyle, while sophomore Briana Allard placed 15th in three-meter diving with a score of 112.05.
 
In the men’s competition, College of Charleston (886 pts.) bested Davidson (803 pts.) for the team title.  Gardner-Webb (640 pts.) placed third, while Howard (279 pts.) edged VMI (275 pts.) and Florida A&M (106 pts.) for fourth.
 
For the women, Florida Gulf Coast (887 pts.) ran away from Davidson (653 pts.) to capture their second consecutive team championship.  VMI (52 pts.) placed 11th, between North Carolina A&T (79 pts.) and Florida A&M (42 pts.).
 
In the championship, the VMI men established two new varsity records and two more freshman marks, while the women set five new varsity records over the three-day event.