Oct. 17, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass men's swimming and diving teams have been selected to win their seventh-straight Atlantic 10 Conference Championship, as selected by the conference coaches on Wednesday. The Minutemen, led by head coach Russ Yarworth, have won a conference best 14 championships, following last season's title run.

Last season the men finished on top for the 12th time in the past 13 seasons, tallying a total score of 693. They finished ahead of St. Bonaventure (567), Xavier (522), La Salle (417), Fordham (412), George Washington (401) and Saint Louis (342).

The squad pulled in a total of four individual gold medals, along with one gold in the 800-yard freestyle relay.

Junior captain Chris Inglis accounted for two of the teams individual golds in both the 200-yard freestyle and the 1650-yard freestyle, with time of 1:36.93 and 15:43.25, respectively. In his previous two years with the Minutemen, Inglis has pulled in a total of nine medals.

Senior captains Tim O'Neill and Beau Garufi, both of which are consistent scorers for the team, also lead the Minutemen in the 2012-13 season.

Rounding out the preseason poll is St. Bonaventure in second, followed by Xavier (3), La Salle (4), Fordham (5), George Washington (6), and Saint Louis (7).

The Minutemen opened their season last weekend at Boston University, falling to the Terriers 182.5-116.5. They are back in the pool for their home opener on Friday, October 19 as they take on Army.

2012-13 Men's Swimming And Diving Preseason Coaches Poll

(2012 Championship results in parenthesis)

1. Massachusetts (1)

2. St. Bonaventure (2)

3. Xavier (3)

4. La Salle (4)
5. Fordham (5)

6. George Washington (6)

 7. Saint Louis (7)