Feb. 21, 2008

Results

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The UMass women's swimming and diving team improved to fourth place after day two of the A-10 Championships. The Minutewomen were led by an exceptional performance from all three divers in the 1-meter board. Junior Karen Upperco (Titusville, N.J.) took home the gold, freshman Anne Fogerty (Allentown, Penn.) earned silver, and junior Sarah Horstmann (Hockessin, Del.) earned bronze. The Minutemen are still on top and opened up their lead by 76 points over St. Bonaventure.

Sophomore Juan Moliere (San Juan, Puerto Rico) earned gold in the 50 free (20.63). The men's swimming and diving team finished the days events with a convincing second place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Juan Moliere, junior Nate Bromage (Three Rivers, Mass), senior A.J. Vozella (Weymouth, Mass.), and senior Zack Priest (Cranston, R.I.) were edged out of a first place finish by two one hundredths of a second by Dusquene. The men's squad dominated in the first event of the day, the 500-yard freestyle, as three of the four Massachusetts swimmers placed in the top eight. Sophomore Justin Brooks (Dedham, Mass.) took fourth, while freshman Drew Talarick (Skillman, N.J.) came in right behind him in fifth and junior Brad Sloan (Shrewsbury, Penn.) placed seventh. Sophomore Andrew Willbrant (Londonderry, N.H.) and freshman Max Butler (Duxbury, Mass.) kept the pace for the Minutemen in the 200-yard IM finishing fourth and eighth, respectively.

As the divers led the way for the Minutewomen, sophomore Kathryne Chalikis (Flemington, N.J.) did her part by finishing eleventh in the 50-yard freestyle (24.26). Chalikis joined teammates junior Cecelia Jenkins (Acton, Mass.), freshman Jennifer Corriveau (Concord, N.H.), and senior Allison Volpe (Pottstown, Penn.), in an impressive fourth place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Also swimming well for the Minutewomen in the 200-yard IM were senior Samantha Demty (Seekonk, Mass.), freshman Tavis Potter (Stillwater, Minn.), and freshman Jessica Starosielec (Colonia, N.J.).

After event 14, the Minutemen lead the pack with 280 points and are fighting for their tenth A-10 title. The Minutewomen, with 156 points and a one-point lead over Fordham, are in fourth place and are looking to improve on last year's second place finish heading into tomorrow's events.

The line-up for tomorrow's swimming events includes: 400-yard IM, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke, and the 400-yard medley relay. The men's 3-meter dive will also take place tomorrow. The championships continue on Friday with morning trials at 10:30 a.m. and finals at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at the Flickinger Center at 9:15 a.m. Live streaming video can be found on www.atlantic10.org.