Feb. 16, 2010

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AMHERST, Mass. - After months of training and preparation, the UMass men's and women's swimming and diving teams are set to compete in the biggest event of the year; the Atlantic 10 Championships. Held over a four-day stretch, the meet will begin Wednesday, Feb. 17 in Buffalo, N.Y. and finish-up on Saturday night at the Flickinger Aquatics Center . The Minutemen have been picked to win an unprecedented fourth-straight A-10 title, which would give them 12 all-time and nine since the turn of the century. The Minutewomen have been tabbed fourth, which is the same spot the squad finished a year ago.

Last Year At The Atlantic 10 Championships
UMass claimed its third-straight Atlantic 10 Championship last season finishing with 720.5 points with St. Bonaventure behind them in second with 540 and Duquesne in third scoring 440.5. Head coach Russ Yarworth was name A-10 Coach of the Year for the tenth time, while diving coach Mandy Hixon was named Diving Coach of the Year.

The team claimed five individual first-place finishes, led by A-10 Diver of the Year, Jason Cook. Cook capped off an undefeated season in the three-meter dive with a first-place finish in the event at A-10s while he also took the top spot in the one-meter dive and only finished as low as second in the event, twice over the season. The Amherst, Mass. native broke both A-10 records previously set by one of the best divers in UMass history, R.J. Rappe, with scores of 680.75 in the three-meter, and 636.90 in the one-meter.

The team also received first-place finishes from Justin Brooks in the 1650 free with a time of 15:45.38 and Juan Moliere, who won his second-straight 50 free with a time of 45.33. Joey Sbordon claimed a second-place finish in the 1650 free, finishing behind Brooks with a time of 15:49.02.

Andrew Willbrant won his third-straight A-10 Championship in the 100 back, finishing with a school record time of 49.61. Willbrant was also a member of the A-10 record 400 medley relay team along with Brian Schmidt, Nate Bromage and Moliere that registered a time of 3:19.34. Willbrant then went on to finish second in the 200 back with teammate Max Butler finishing third with time of 1:48.33 and 1:48.49 respectively.

A Championship Tradition
After claiming their third-straight A-10 title last season, the Minutemen have no won 11 team titles in 15 years affiliated with the league. Since the A-10 began crowning champions, no other team has won more titles than UMass. The team also set the league record for most consecutive championships, winning five-straight between 2001 and 2005. Over the last nine seasons, the team has won the A-10 championship every year except for 2006. No other coach has won more Coach of the Year awards the Russ Yarworth. Yarworth earned his tenth such honor last season.

So Far This Season
The Minutemen finished 6-2 in dual meets this season, with their only two losses coming against Army and Yale. The squad also had a first-place finish at the Rhode Island Invitational and a third-place finish at the Terrier Invitational.

UMass remained undefeated against all-time against Stony Brook, Colgate and Binghamton while also adding to their extremely dominant record against Boston College. After beating Army last season, the Black Knights got some revenge against the Minutemen with a, 183-117, win.

The Minutemen showed their dominance against A-10 opponents, defeating Fordham, 179-114 in their lone dual meet of the year against a conference foe, while also taking first against a pair of A-10 teams at the Rhode Island Invitational. The squad was able to beat out both La Salle and George Washington in the meet.

Leading The A-10
The Minutemen currently own three of the top-times this season in the A-10 along with being in the top three in almost every single event. Senior Juan Moliere owns the top time in the 50 free (20.72), while Mike Berthaume is first in the 100 fly (49.95).

Sophomore Joey Sbordon ranks first in the 1650 free with a time of 15:54.34, while also sitting second in the 500 free (4:31.63) and third in the 200 free (1:40.93). In the 100 backstroke, freshman Jorge Fortin has the second-best time (50.81), with teammate Andrew Willbrant just behind him with a time of 51.50.

In the relays, the Minutemen have the best time this season in the 200 freestyle relay, as the team of Chris Howard, Trevor Ziegler, Sasan Tehrani and Juan Moliere recorded a time of 1:23.07.