TROY, N.Y. – The Cortland women's swimming and diving team finished first out of six schools to earn its third consecutive title at the RPI Invitational. The Red Dragons finished with a score of 563 points, followed by New Paltz (488), RPI (402), Oneonta (304), William Smith (250) and Skidmore (238).

The meet was also scored as duals between each of the competing schools. Cortland won all five by scores of 116-107 over New Paltz, 134-106 versus RPI, 179-53 versus Skidmore, 175-65 against Oneonta and 175-59 against William Smith to improve its dual record to 9-2 on the season.

The Red Dragons were victorious mainly due to their depth. Cortland had only two victories on the day, but 16 different Red Dragons finished in the top five at least once, either individually or in a relay. Junior Kristin Barnoski (Stanley/Marcus Whitman) won the 50-yard freestyle (25.56) and sophomore Stephenie Bintz (Altamont/Guilderland) was victorious in the 200-yard backstroke (2:16.34).

Cortland, however, earned six runner-up finishes, including both relays. The 400-yard medley relay of junior Krista Bergquist (West Islip), junior Taylor Houseman (Wellsville), sophomore Liz Neddo (Syracuse/Fowler) and Barnoski finished in 4:08.42, just 0.13 behind the winning time, and the 400-yard freestyle relay of junior Katie Molzan (Plattsburgh/Peru), junior Megan Donlevy (Lake Grove/Sachem North), senior Lauren Friedlander (Woodbury/Syosset) and Bergquist were clocked at 3:45.96, less than a second off the first-place time.

Junior Samantha Buckley (Holbrook/Sachem North) turned in three top-five finishes. She almost won the 500-yard freestyle, as her time of 5:24.37 was only one hundredth of a second slower than the winner. Buckley added a third-place finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle (11:22.46) and a fifth-place effort in the 200-yard backstroke (2:20.28).

Neddo placed second in the 200-yard butterfly (2:15.57) and was third in the 500-yard freestyle (5:25.70), while Friedlander finished second behind Barnoski in the 50-yard freestyle (25.82) and was fifth in the 100-yard freestyle (56.89). Houseman also earned a runner-up finish with her time of 2:29.50 in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Sophomore Rachel Phillips (Angola/Eden) finished third in the 200-yard individual medley (2:21.30) and fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:34.75). She also teamed with junior Ciera Broadwell (Canandaigua/Marcus Whitman), sophomore Brittany Zdybowicz (Buffalo/Kenmore West) and junior Jenny Judge (Farmington/Victor) to finish third in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:54.31).

Donlevy finished fourth in the 200-yard freestyle (2:03.16), as did freshman Laura Bohneberg (Lockport) in the 200-yard individual medley (2:21.35) and senior Jeannine McNamara (Williamsville/Williamsville East) in one-meter diving (179.85 points). Bergquist placed fifth in the 50-yard freestyle (26.23) and the 400-yard medley relay combination of Bintz, sophomore Sarah Wignall (Weedsport), Bohneberg and Molzan finished fifth in 4:19.46.

Complete Results



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