BUFFALO, N.Y. – Sophomore Abigail MacDonald (East Amherst/Williamsville North) broke the school record in the 200-yard backstroke, sophomore Jessica Evans (Hamburg) set a school record in the 100-yard freestyle, and the 400-yard freestyle unit of Evans, freshman Caitlin Lanigan (West Seneca/West Seneca West), junior Michelle Seeger (Oneonta) and freshman Sarah Culmo (West Islip) convincingly set a school record during the final day of competition at the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Cortland finished in third place in the nine-team championship standings. Geneseo captured its fourth straight SUNYAC title with 771.5 points. New Paltz placed second with 664.5 points, followed by Cortland (573), Fredonia (478) and Oswego (324) in the top five. Rounding out the standings were Oneonta (268), Buffalo St. (168), Potsdam (155) and Brockport (110). Cortland has finished in the top three at the championship seven times in the last eight years.

MacDonald finished third in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:08.46. The previous school record of 2:09.40 was set by Lauren Friedlander in 2006. The 400-yard freestyle relay team also finished third with their record time of 3:34.36. Evans and Seeger were also part of the previous record-setting quartet, along with Katie Molzan and Kristin Barnoski, that was clocked in 3:37.98 last season. Evans won the “B” final in the 100-yard freestyle in 53.54 seconds, a time that would have finished fourth in the championship finals. She broke the school record of 53.55 seconds set by Kate Duncan in 2002.

Cortland's top placements on Saturday came from senior Rachel Phillips (Eden), who finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:28.17), and freshman Chrisanna Hickey (Hopewell Junction/John Jay East Fishkill), who was second in the 200-yard butterfly (2:10.36).

Culmo finished fourth 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53.66 seconds. She and Evans are only two of three Red Dragon women, along with Duncan, to break 54 seconds in the event. MacDonald finished fourth in the 200-yard butterfly (2:12.03), graduate student Lauryn Kaznowski (Kingston) finished seventh in one-meter diving (365.20 points) and sophomore Kelsey Roe (Auburn) was eighth in the 200-yard backstroke (2:15.54, 2:13.33 in prelims).

Complete Results (PDF)


FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1) Geneseo – 771.5
2) New Paltz – 664.5
3) Cortland – 573
4) Fredonia – 478
5) Oswego – 324
6) Oneonta – 268
7) Buffalo St. – 168
8) Potsdam – 155
9) Brockport - 110