Davidson College followed in second with 240 points, 27.5 points ahead of Gardner-Webb with 212.50 points who finished third. Virginia Military Institute finished in fourth with 119.50 points, and Howard rounds out the men’s field with 64 points.
The 200-yard freestyle relay started the evening finals off with College of Charleston (Greg Karel, Matthew Sherrier, David Sherrier and Brantley Reynolds) taking first-place with a time of 1:21.83. DavidsonCollege (Geoff Peitz, Wills Cooper, David Kerman and Brandon Kegley) finished in second-place with a time of 1:21.95 and Gardner-Webb (Sam Woods, Cole Hickey, Colin James and Phillip Leonard) was third, clocking in at 1:23.22.
In the men’s 3-meter diving event, College of Charleston’s Peter Gibbons took the crown for the second-straight year with a score of 291.75. Dallas Disbro from VMI placed second with a score of 226.00 and College of Charleston’s Michael Topitzer placed third with a score of 198.15.
Davidson’s Dylan Ludwick set a CCSA record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:25.34, topping teammate Curtis Chaney’s 2009 record of 4:26.89. College of Charleston’s Matthew Sherrier took second-place with a time of 4:31.73 and Sam Wilson of Gardner-Webb took third-place, clocking 4:32.44.
Davidson then took first and second in the 200 IM with Drew Onken and Peitz, earning NCAA "B" cuts with times of 1:46.69 and 1:49.03, respectively. Onken also took home a new meet and Conference record, beating College of Charleston’s Randy Buchanan’s record of 1:47.47 from 2010. Jordan Denmark of Gardner-Webb finished third with a time of 1:49.60.
The Cougars continued their success on the day with Karel taking first in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.65 with Reynolds placing third witha time of 21.00. Runnin’ Bulldog Hickey finished between the two Cougars in second with a time of 20.81.
Davidson’s 400-yard medley relay team of Peitz, Onken, Joe Burquist and Chaney finished the day by earning a "B" cut with a time of 3:16.92. Gardner-Webb’s Denmark, Drew Ellwanger, DJ Hughes and Hickey took home second-placewith a time of 3:22.69 and College of Charleston’s Jackson Marine, Reynolds, Chris Verboncoeur and Matthew Sherrier placed third, finishing at 3:23.48.
Following day one of the 2012 Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association(CCSA) swimming and diving championships, Florida Gulf Coast women lead therespective team races Wednesday with 263 points in the event contested atGabrielsen Natatorium on the campus of University of Georgia.
Liberty follows FGCU with 179 points, while University of North Florida holds third-place with 124 points and Georgia Southern is in fourth with 110 points. Davidson College is in fifth with 106 points and College of Charleston is in sixth with 89 points. Gardner-Webb fell one point below College of Charleston, finishing seventh with 88 points. In eighth-place is Radford University with 52 points, followed by Campbell University with 40 points, North Carolina A&T with 32 points, Virginia Military Institute with 26 points and Howard University with 22 points.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Liberty (Brye Ravettine, Cori Gary, Meghan Babcock and Marley Cripe) set a new Conference record and earned an NCAA "B" cut with1:31.36, topping Florida Gulf Coast (Emma Svensson, Christina Tanninen, Eva Lehtonen and Vicky Cadge) who clocked in at 1:32.24,also earning an NCAA B cut time. College of Charleston (Sarah Graif, Meredith Smith, Mary Frances Babrowicz and Jayme Groth) rounded out the top three with a time of 1:34.60.
Florida Gulf Coast swept the 500-yard freestyle, with Eva Lehtonen placing first with 4:54.42 and Devon Robins taking second with a time of 4:55.19. Conference record-holder Leah Daniel rounded out the top three with a time of 4:56.20.
The Eagles took first-place in the 200 IM with Vicky Cadge clocking in at 2:03.17. Sara Evans of North Florida placed second with 2:03.78 and Charity Byrum finished third with a time of 2:04.09.
In the 50-yard free, first-place winner Brye Ravettine of Liberty set a new meet, Conference and school record, while earning a "B" cut with a time of 22.19. FGCU’s Emma Svensson finished second with a time of 22.85 and Liberty’s Cori Gary finished third, clocking in at 22.87, both earning "B" cuts along with Ravettine.
In the women’s 1-meter diving event, FGCU’s Maegan Butler took home a first-place finish with a score of 258.70 and Alex Valder took third, earning 243.95 points. Sara Meisenhelder of Georgia Southern finished between to the two Eagles with a score of 254.70.
FGCU’s 400-yard medley relay team of Svensson, Dani Beaubrun, Danielle Butler and Tanninen finished the day by setting a new meet and CCSA record and gaining a "B" cut with a time of 3:41.11. Liberty’s Ravettine, Erin Curry, Bethany Wakeley and Gary placed second witha time of 3:46.07. Sarah Schwartz, Kristen Bates, Megan Heller and Elaina Lanson of Georgia Southern took home third-place with a time of 3:47.04.
The second day of the CCSA Championship will begin Friday, Feb. 17 at 10:00 am, starting with the 200-yard "B" medley relay. The finals will take start at 6:00 pm.