February 17, 2010
Blue Wave Repeats, Records Break
BUFFALO – The Geneseo men’s swimming and diving team won its 12th consecutive State University of New York Athletic Conference championship while the Geneseo women claimed their third SUNYAC crown in a row at the Burt Flickinger Aquatic Center at Erie Community College. The Knight men – also known as the Blue Wave – scored 829 points while the Lady Wave earned 814. Cortland eighth-year head coach Brian Tobin was selected as the SUNYAC Women’s Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year for the first time. He was also named the Men’s Coach of the Year for the second time.
Other honorees included Michelle Rodriguez (Yorktown Heights/Yorktown) of Geneseo and Fredonia’s Sarah Ficarro (Oswego/Oswego), who were the meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer and Diver, respectively. Cortland’s Dan Evans (Hamburg/Hamburg) was the Most Outstanding Men’s Swimmer for the second straight year, while Fredonia’s Christian Torres (Dunkirk/Dunkirk) and Oswego’s Eric Messina (Latham/Shaker) were both named as the meet’s Most Outstanding Men’s Diver. The Grace Mowatt Award was given to Cortland’s Taylor Houseman (Rushford/Wellsville), while Evans was presented the James Fulton Award.
Four different women won individual titles for the Blue Wave on the lady’s side, including Rodriguez, who posted an NCAA Division III automatic qualifying time in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:00.01, won the 100 free in an NCAA provisional time of 51.64, won the 200 free in an NCAA provisional time of 1:52.64 and swam on the winning 400 and 800 freestyle relays. Also capturing gold for the Lady Wave were Natalie Thorpe (Lakewood/Southwestern) who won the 400 IM in 4:39.70; Jennifer Anthone(Williamsville/Williamsville East), who won the 200 butterfly in 2:13.30; and Meghan Green (Pittsford/Pittsford-Mendon), who won the 1650 freestyle (17:22.78).
Also on the women’s side, Cortland's Taylor Houseman (Rushford/Wellsville) won the 200 breaststroke and set a SUNYAC championship record with a time of 2:21.09, beating the previous record of 2:22.33. Teammate Kristen Barnoski (Stanley/Marcus Whitman) won the 50 free with a time of 24.03. Oswego's Jenny VanEtten (Raven/RCS) won the 200 IM in 2:10.73; Fredonia's Juliana Walker (Frewsburg/ Frewsburg) won the 100 fly with a time of 58.67; New Paltz's Becky Baker (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) won the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.07, while teammate Yuka Suzuka (Yorktown Heights/Yorktown) won the 100 and 200 back in in 58.79 and 2:07.92, respectively.
On the men’s side, three men captured individual titles for Geneseo, including Ken Pink (Rochester/ Pittsford-Sullivan) who captured the 200 IM in 1:56.33; Nate Foley (Slingerlands/Bethlehem) won the 500 freestyle in 4:40.09; and Sean Kennedy (Delmar/Bethlehem) who won the 200 fly in 1:57.80.
Also on the men’s side a trio of New Paltz swimmers captured tiles. Rob Webb (Hillsborough,NJ/
Hillsborough) captured the 400 IM title with a time of 4:13:35; Steve Cozzolongo(Burlington, Conn./Lewis S. Mills) won the 100 butterfly in 51.62 and the 100 back with a time of 52.72; and Zack Lowenstein (Brick, NJ/Brick Township) won the 200 back with a time of 1:55.19. Cortland’s Evans won the 50 free in 20.64;
In women's relay competition Cortland was a three time winner. Kate Molzan (Plattsburgh/Peru), Michelle Seeger (Oneonta/Oneonta), Krista Bergquist (West Islip/West Islip) and Kristen Barnoski won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:38.23; Bergquist, Taylor Houseman, Abby MacDonald (East Amherst/Williamsville North) and Barnoski won the 400 medley in 3:56.78; and Bergquist, Houseman, Seeger and Barnoski captured the 200 medley with a time of 1:48.11. Geneseo was a double winner in relay competition. Natalie Thorpe, Katie Linehan (Schenectady/Guilderland), Meghan Green and Michelle Rodriguez won the 800 freestyle in a time of 7:51.60; while Rodriguez, Elyssa Max (New Hartford/New Hartford), Linehan and Jennifer Anthone won the 400 freestyle in 3:34.88.
In men's relay competition Cortland captured four titles. In the 200 freestyle Dan Evans, Matt Young (Schoharie/Schoharie), James McCabe (North Massapequa/Farmingdale) and Dan Maximowicz (Binghamton/Chenango Forks) won with a time of 1:23.72. Dan Drew (Farmington/Victor), Dan Salvatore (Clarence/Clarence), Evans and Young won the 200 medley in a time of 1:34.42. Evans, Jeff Moessinger (Elma/Iroquois), Justin Nelson (Jamestown/Frewsburg), and Caleb VanSickle won the 800 freestyle with a time of 6:59.91. Evans, VanSickle, Ben Strickland (Stanfordville/Home Schooled) and Young won the 400 freestyle in 3:06.40. Geneseo's Josh Kaplan (Grand Island/Grand Island), Ken Pink, Aaron Wagner (Middleport/Royalton-Hartland) and Drew Rogers (Williamsville/Williamsville South) won the 400 medley with a time of 3:30.24.
In women's diving competition, Fredonia's Sarah Ficaro was a two-time winner. She captured both the 1 meter and 3 meter dives with scores of 433.80 and 467.15, respectively. In men's competition, Christian Torres of Fredonia won the 1 meter dive with a score of 497.20, while Oswego's Eric Messina captured the 3 meter title with a score of 508.60.
Women's Final
| Geneseo | 814 |
| Cortland | 598 |
| New Paltz | 495 |
| Fredonia | 473 |
| Oswego | 407 |
| Oneonta | 292 |
| Brockport | 183 |
| Buffalo State | 173 |
| Potsdam | 160 |
Men's Final
| Geneseo | 829 |
| Cortland | 685 |
| New Paltz | 555 |
| Fredonia | 328 |
| Oswego | 310 |
| Potsdam | 258 |
| Oneonta | 236 |
| Buffalo State | 212 |
| Brockport | 182 |
