Men's And Women's Swimming & Diving Each Finish Eighth In Atlantic 10 Championships
Feb. 19, 2005
BUFFALO, N.Y. - For the fourth straight year, the Atlantic 10 crowned the University of Massachusetts men and the University of Richmond women champions at the 2005 A-10 Swimming and Diving Championships at the Flickinger Aquatic Center. The Minutemen finished with 804 points, while the Lady Spiders finished with 921 points.
For the men, St. Bonaventure finished in second place (652.5), La Salle in third (473), George Washington in fourth (384), followed by Fordham in fifth (354), Xavier in sixth (306), Duquesne in seventh (270), and Rhode Island in eighth (248.5).
On the women's side, St. Bonaventure finished the competition in second place (534), George Washington in third (427), the University of Massachusetts in fourth (363), followed by Xavier in fifth (350), Fordham in sixth (326), Duquesne in seventh (318), Rhode Island in eighth (221), and La Salle in ninth (132).
Ryan Sheatsley finished fourth in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:06.02. Ben followed in fifth place with a time of 16:09.42. Domenic Moccia scored 277.85 points to finish in 10th place in the 3-meter dive.
The men's 400 freestyle relay team took eighth in a time of 3:11.62. Anthony Randall, Sheatsley, Kevin Donlevy and Robinson raced for the Rams.
In the first event of the night, freshman Nico Lilly of Xavier captured a gold medal in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:47.50.
Duquesne sophomore Scott Darwin touched first in the 200-yard backstroke in 1:50.96, while rookie AJ Vozella of UMass finished first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 45.99. St. Bonaventure junior Adrian Blaszczak captured his second individual gold of the competition, with a 2:04.15 finish in the 200-yard breaststroke event. In the 200-yard butterfly event, La Salle sophomore Sean Connors-McBride won with a time of 1:49.19.
In a fight to the end, St. Bonaventure won the 400-yard free relay. Senior Seth Johnson, juniors Patrick Doret and Michal Bogacki, and freshman Tommy Nowakowski captured the gold in a time of 3:02.80.
The men's diving portion of the competition concluded with Karo Isajan of La Salle capturing a gold-medal on the three-meter board with a score of 506.55.
The night concluded with the presentation to honor top performers. Sophomore Scott Darwin of Duquesne was named the 2005 A-10 Most Outstanding Performer, garnering 56 points. St. Bonaventure's Roman Margulis received the 2005 A-10 Most Outstanding Rookie Perfomer, earning 52 points. For the second consecutive year, La Salle's Isajan was named the 2005 A-10 Most Outstanding Diving Performer. His coach, Diane Maise, received men's diving coach of the year honors. Russ Yarworth took home the 2005 Men's Coach of the Year award.
On the women's side, Richmond dominated the night with a series of first-place finishes. Freshman Jessica Witt captured the first gold medal of the night with a 17:01.23 finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle event. Junior Brooke Boncher touched first and qualified for the NCAA B-cut in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.49. In the 200-yard breaststroke event, sophomore Alicia Crossman touched first in a time of 2:20.62, while junior Anne Kirchner grabbed first in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:05.54.
Senior Erika Newell of Fordham grabbed first in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:02.27.
To end the night, Lady Spiders' Adams, earned the conferences 2005 Most Outstanding Performer award for the second time, garnering 60 points. Teammate Jessica Witt was named the A-10's 2005 Most Outstanding Rookie Performer. Senior Katura Horton-Perinchief of George Washington took home the 2005 Women's Most Outstanding Diving Performer. Her coach, Krista Irish, was named the women's diving coach of the year. Taking home the top honor was Richmond's Matt Kredich with women's coach of the year.
