University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Atlantic 10 Championships
Minutemen Win Seventh A-10 Title In Eight Seasons
February 23, 2008 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 23, 2008
BUFFALO, N.Y. -
After sitting atop the leader board for the first three days, the Massachusetts men and Richmond women closed out championship titles at the Atlantic 10 Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday evening at the Flickinger Center. Both programs extended their consistency, as the Spiders were crowned the conference champions for the seventh consecutive year, while the Minutemen won for the seventh time in the past eight seasons. Massachusetts finished with a total of 791.5 points, an astounding 224 point lead over second-place St. Bonaventure. The Minutewomen battled to the end for a fourth place with a score of 430.5 points after squeezing by Fordham by 6.5 points. The men's swimming coach Russ Yarworth was named Men's Coach of the Year. It was a great day for the Massachusetts diving squad as coach Mandy Hixon was named Diving Coach of the Year for both men's and women's diving. Senior Reuben Rappe (Farmington, Minn.) was named Men's Most Outstanding Diver while junior Karen Upperco (Titusville, N.J.) was named Women's Most Outstanding Diver.
The Minutemen won their seventh A-10 title in eight years in an impressive fashion as they walked away with two gold medals and three bronze medals today. For the second year in a row, sophomore Justin Brooks (Dedham, Mass.) took home the gold in the 1650-yard free, with a time of 15:41.72. Junior Brad Sloan (Shrewsbury, Penn.) finished behind Brooks in the event earning bronze with a time of 16:00.67. In the 200-yard backstroke sophomore Andrew Willbrant (Londonderry, N.H.) and freshman Max Butler (Duxbury, Mass.) raced to third and fourth place finishes, respectively, to put another 31 points on the board for the Minutemen. The 200-yard butterfly proved to be a promising event for the men as sophomore Michael Berthaume (Hampden, Mass.) earned the gold with a time of 1:51.66 and senior Derek Castellana (Bedford, Mass.) captured the bronze with a time of 1:52.59. Also swimming well in the 200-yard butterfly was sophomore Tim Smith (North Andover, Mass.) who finished seventh overall with a time of 1:56.56. Sophomore Juan Moliere (San Juan, Puerto Rico) brought home the bronze in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 45.63 and helped the Minutemen to a third place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:04.03). Freshman Brian Schmidt (Falmouth, Mass.) placed fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:06.43.
The Minutewomen were able to come from behind in today's events to regain the fourth spot on the leader boards. They were led by junior Christa Narus (Stony Brook, N.Y.) as she broke her previous school record in the 200-yard butterfly by three seconds with a time of 2:03.14. Narus took home the silver medal in the event and went on to aid the Minutewomen to a fourth place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:30.33). Senior Samantha Demty (Seekonk, Mass.) also placed ninth in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:07.39. Senior Allison Volpe (Pottstown, Penn.) placed seventh in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 52.79. The Minutewomen saw outstanding performances from freshmen Jessica Starosielec (Colonia, N.J.) and Tavis Potter (Stillwater, Minn.) in the 200-yard breaststroke as they finished seventh and thirteenth overall.
Diving Coach Mandy Hixon watched another stellar performance from her squad today as freshman Anne Fogerty (Allentown, Penn.) and the A-10's Most Outstanding Diver, Karen Upperco, both broke the A-10 record. Fogerty scored the gold with a score of 568.15 while Upperco took home the silver medal with a score of 563.95. Junior Sarah Horstmann finished fourth in the event with a score of 431.30.
The Minutewomen, coming off of a second place finish in last year's A-10's, were up against some strong competition in this year. They were ranked sixth after day one but fought hard to a fourth place finish overall.
