BUFFALO, N.Y. – Freshman Sarah Culmo (West Islip) finished second in the 50-yard freestyle and both Cortland relays earned third-place honors during the first full day of competition at the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. The event is being held through Saturday at Erie Community College's Flickinger Center.

Cortland is in third place in the team standings with two days left. Geneseo leads with 243.5 points. New Paltz is in second with 183.5 points, barely ahead of Cortland's 181 points. Fredonia (169) and Oswego (104) round out the top five in the nine-team field.

Culmo posted a time of 24.28 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle finals. She earns second-team All-SUNYAC honors, which are awarded to the second and third-place finisher in each individual event.

The 200-yard freestyle relay unit of sophomore Jessica Evans (Hamburg), Culmo, junior Michelle Seeger (Oneonta) and freshman Caitlin Lanigan (West Seneca/West Seneca West) finished in 1:37.84, while the 400-yard medley relay team of sophomore Abigail MacDonald (East Amherst/Wiliamsville North), senior Rachel Phillips (Eden), freshman Chrisanna Hickey (Hopewell Junction/John Jay East Fishkill) and Evans finished in 3:59.29.

Hickey placed fourth in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:13.60 (2:12.87 in prelims) and Seeger was fifth in the 50-yard freestyle (24.79). Phillips turned in a seventh-place time of 2:14.67 in the 200-yard individual medley (2:13.34 in prelims), graduate student Lauryn Kaznowski (Kingston) finished seventh in three-meter diving (365.80 points) and Lanigan was eighth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:29.22, 5:20.81 in prelims).

In addition, Evans won the 50-yard freestyle “B” final in 24.64 seconds, a time that was as fast as the third-place finisher in the championship heat.


STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1

1) Geneseo – 243.5
2) New Paltz – 183.5
3) Cortland – 181
4) Fredonia – 169
5) Oswego – 104
6) Oneonta – 72
7) Buffalo St. – 61
8) Potsdam – 55
9) Brockport - 40