University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Atlantic 10 Swimming & Diving Championships
MINUTEMEN CLAIM 12TH A10 TITLE, Women take 3rd
February 20, 2010 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 20, 2010
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The UMass men's swimming team closed out their fourth-straight Atlantic 10 Championship Saturday at the Flickinger Aquatics Center in Buffalo, N.Y. The team totaled 814.5 points, 283 points ahead of second-place St. Bonaventure. The women went on to place third with 428 points, improving on their fourth-place finish a year ago, finishing behind second-place URI, and A-10 champion Fordham.
The Minutemen, who are by far the most successful team in Atlantic 10 Swimming, have now won the conference title in 12 out of the 16 years since the beginning of the conference championship. Besides being four-in-a-row, it is also the ninth in ten years for the Minutemen, who have won every title since 2001 except for the 2006 season. The squad totaled eight individual gold medals and two relay gold medals throughout the meet.
Men's coach Russ Yarworth was once again named A-10 Coach of the Year, his conference record 11th time winning the honor. Diving coach Mandy Hixon swept both the Men's and Women's Diving Coach of the Year awards for the second year in a row. Jason Cook was also named Diver of the Year for the second-straight year.
Andrew Willbrant continued to have an outstanding meet as the top individual performer for the Minutemen. Willbrant earned his third gold medal of the meet, winning the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:48.62. Teammate Max Butler finished just behind him in second, notching a time of 1:49.47.
Sophomore Joey Sbordon earned his first gold medal of the meet, winning the 1650 free with a time of 15:49.59, while teammate Justin Brooks helped combine for the one-two finish, taking second with a time of 15:52.49.
Senior Juan Moliere swam a personal best time in the 100 free, notching a time of 45.23 to take the silver medal and place him third on the UMass all-time list, adding on to the gold that he won in the 50 free earlier in the weekend. Teammates Chris Howard and Trevor Ziegler joined Moliere in the top-eight, both with personal best times. Ziegler took fifth with a time of 45.83, while Howard took sixth with a time of 45.84, placing them ninth and tenth respectively on the UMass all-time top-ten list.
The Minutemen had three more top-eight finishes on the day. Dan Backler took third in the 200 breaststroke, swimming a personal best time of 2:05.60 to place him sixth all-time at UMass. Mike Berthaume also had a third-place finish, notching a personal best time of 1:51.20 in the 200 fly (fifth best in UMass history), while teammate Tim Smith notched seventh (1:55.16).
The 400 free relay team capped off the meet in style, setting a school record for the event. The team of Howard, Ziegler, Pete Sacco and Moliere combined for a time of 3:01.40, knocking-off the old record of 3:02.38 that was set back in the 1997-98 season.
The women's team had some great performances throughout the weekend. Although they had just one gold medal (Hannah Swift in the one-meter dive), the team had numerous personal bests to go along with two schools records being set.
The Minutewomen placed two swimmers in the top-eight of the 1650 free, as Chelsea Downing placed sixth with a time of 17:22.09, while Molly Papish swam a personal best time of 17:26.36 to take eighth. Papish's time places her fourth all-time at UMass.
Freshman Amina Meho put a cap on a very successful rookie campaign, placing third in the 100 freestyle with a time of 51.21, a personal best and the second fastest in UMass history.
Two more swimmers in Jessica Starosielec and Meghan Nowak placed in the top-eight of the 200 breaststroke. Starosielec took sixth (2:22.68), while Nowak claimed eighth. Both swimmers notched personal best times in the preliminaries of the event, as Starosielec notched a time of 2:22.16, the third fastest in school history, while Nowak swam a 2:24.56, the seventh fastest in school history.
Freshman Michaela Butler also finished off a great rookie year, taking second in the three-meter dive with a score of 259.75, placing her eighth on the UMass all-time top-ten list. Teammate Hannah Swift finished just behind her in third (243.75).
The 400 free relay team of Tavis Potter, Jennifer Corriveau, Elizabeth Walsh and Meho capped off the meet with a first-place finish, registering a time of 3:29.26
