Dec. 9, 2008

Center Valley, Pa. - Colgate's Erica Derlath and several members of the Navy men's swim team set Patriot League records in their performances last week. Several Patriot League teams are ranked in the Nov. 25 Division I Mid-Major Poll by CollegeSwimming.com. On the men's side, Navy is ranked first, followed by Army at #14 and Bucknell at #20, with Colgate receiving votes. On the women's side, Navy is ranked sixth, followed by Colgate at seven and Bucknell at #22. Student-athletes from Navy and Colgate earned Swimmer and Diver of the Week accolades.

Patriot League Swimming and Diving Release 12.9.08

Male Swimmer of the Week

Adam Meyer, Navy Jr., Bethesda, Md.

Meyer made two NCAA B-cuts and set two Patriot League records in last week's Star Meet with archrival Army, posting a time of 1:43.05 in the 200 butterfly and 1:45.16 in the 200 IM. The junior also swam the third leg of the 200 medley relay, the third first-place finish for Meyer at the meet. Navy won the meet, 214.5-84.5 at West Point.

Female Swimmer of the Week

Erica Derlath, Colgate Fr., Garden City, N.Y.

Derlath broke the school and freshman records in the 400 IM and 1,650 free in last week's U.S. Short Course Swimming Nationals. Derlath's time of 4:20.27 in the 400 IM set a Patriot League record and earned her a 19th-place finish in the national meet. The freshman's 400 IM time and 16:50.92 time in the 1,650 free were both within 98% of the NCAA B-cut standards.

Male Diver of the Week

Jon Galinski, Navy Sr., Phoenix, Md.

Galinski swept both boards against Army, winning the one meter by over 30 points and the three meter by over 42 points. Both scores set new Army-Navy meet records. Galinski has totaled seven wins and 15 second-place finishes in 22 events this year.

Female Diver of the Week

Desiree' Robison, Navy Sr., Tucson, Ariz.

Robison won the three meter with a score of 260.90 and placed second in the one meter with a score of 245.95 in last week's Star Meet at Army. Robison improved to 9-0 this year on the three meter in dual meets and has placed first or second in a combined 17 of 18 events this year.

Patriot League Notebook

Five Patriot League Records Set Last Week

Colgate's Erica Derlath and several members of the Navy men's swim team set Patriot League records in their performances last week. Derlath competed in the U.S. Short Course Swimming Nationals in Atlanta, where she established a new Patriot League record in the 400 IM, twice. The freshman broke the original record in the preliminaries with a 4:22.18 and then broke that record in the bonus swim with a 4:20.27 to place 19th overall at the meet. The previous record was 4:22.95 and was held by Navy's Kelly Zahalka.

Andrew Hetzner, Ari Molina, Adam Meyer and Alex Oldenkamp combined to set a Patriot League record in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:30.41 in last week's Star Meet against Army. Meyer also set two more records at the meet by swimming a 1:43.05 in the 200 butterfly and a 1:45.16 in the 200 IM, both of which were NCAA B-cut times. Erik Hunter swam the new standard in the 1,650 free with a time of 15:27.49.

Several Patriot League Teams Ranked In Mid-Major Poll

Several Patriot League teams are ranked in the Nov. 25 Division I Mid-Major Poll by CollegeSwimming.com. On the men's side, Navy is ranked first, followed by Army at #14 and Bucknell at #20, with Colgate receiving votes. On the women's side, Navy is ranked sixth, followed by Colgate at seven and Bucknell at #22.

A Few Lanes Away

The 2008-09 Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship meet will take place Thurs. - Sat., Feb. 19-21 at Arthur D. Kinney Jr., Natatorium at Bucknell University. The meet will begin at 10:30 a.m. on each of the three days of competition.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles competed in the USA Swimming Nationals last weekend, where Matt Pelletier set lifetime bests in the 50 free, 100 back and 100 fly, and Dorothy Isaacs set a new American record in the 50 free with a time of 23.70. American next swims vs. Georgetown on Jan. 16.

Army Army men lost 214.5-84.5 and the women fell 211-84 to Navy in the annual Star Meet last week. Diver Lindsey Adao competed in the Rutgers Diving Invitational, where she finished fourth in the one meter and 11th on the three meter. The Black Knights next swim at the Puerto Rico Invitational on Dec. 28.

Bucknell The Bison had no scheduled events last week. Bucknell does not swim again until next year, when it hosts Colgate on Jan. 10.

Colgate The Colgate women finished third at the Nike Invite at Kenyon College last weekend, where they broke two school records at the meet. The men finished sixth of six teams, where Costas Hadjipateras posted the third-fastest 200 fly time in Raider history. Colgate next competes at Bucknell on Jan. 10

Holy Cross The Crusaders competed at the Harold Anderson Invite last week, where the men's meet was team unscored and the women finished fifth of six teams. Holy Cross next competes Sunday, Jan.11 against Vermont and Central Connecticut State.

Lafayette The Leopards had no scheduled events last week. Lafayette next swims at Stony Brook on Jan. 17.

Lehigh Lehigh ended 2008 on a good note, with a sweep of St. Peter's last week. Andrew DiPietro won two individual events at the meet and diver Erin Tormey swept the one and three meter boards. The Mountain Hawks next compete at Marist on Jan. 10.

Navy The Mids swept Army at last week's Star Meet, with several members of the men's team setting four Patriot League records along the way. The men's team next competes on Tuesday as they host Maryland. The women next compete Jan. 17 against Vermont.