Erica Derlath won the league title in the 400 IM
2/19/2010 11:33:50 PM
ANNAPOLIS, MD. (2/19/2010) – Erica Derlath (Garden City, N.Y.) and Caren Guyett (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) claimed the top two spots in the 400 IM in the second day of competition at the 2010 Patriot League Swimming & Diving Championships, Friday evening at Lejeune Hall.
After having a rough start in the finals as Colgate’s 200 medley relay was disqualified, the battle between Derlath and Guyett was a nice consolation of sorts.
The sophomore was neck and neck with her teammate during the entire course of the race. Derlath touched .04 seconds ahead of Guyett and won the race with a time of 4:18.11, which stands as the fourth best time in the program’s history. Guyett’s 4:18.15 is fifth all-time.
Erin McGraw (Penfield, N.Y.) captured second place in the 100 fly by only .08 seconds. The junior registered a time of 54.74, the seventh best time in that event, while Kate Murphy (Williamsburg, Va.) and Sarah Button (Mendham, N.J.) finished fourth and 15th respectively.
The Raiders placed three competitors among the top 11 in the 100 back as well. Lia Kunnapas (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.) broke Beverly Walker’s rookie record in the preliminary heat. The freshman touched with a 56.13, besting the former mark of 56.72 set back in 2006. Kunnapas returned for the final and posted a 56.27, which placed her in second. Kim Siembieda (Narbeth, Pa.) finished 10th with a 58.33, while Button tallied an 11-place effort after finishing with a 58.38.
Colgate posted many points in both the 200 free and the 100 breast. The Raiders tallied 32 points from five swimmers in the 200. Freshman Emma Santoro (Fall River, Mass.) led the charge with a sixth-place performance after posting a 1:54.33. Sarah Sciarrino (Buffalo, N.Y.), Erika Mortenson (Chesterfield, Mo.), Murphy, and Caitlin Dwyer (Hicksville, N.Y.) finished 11th,12th, 13th, and 14th respectively.
The Raiders flexed their muscles by grabbing five top-10 efforts in the 100 breast which translated into 61 points. Courtney Callahan (White Plains, N.Y.) led the army of Raiders with a fourth-place effort (1:04.79), while Becca Murray (Wilmington, Del.), Santoro and Caitlin Curran (Alpharetta, Ga.) finished right behind the sophomore in fifth, sixth and seventh. Maggie White (Baltimore, Md.) picked up 10th-place points in the event as well.
In the final event, the team of Derlath, Murphy, Siembieda, and Guyett placed second in the 800 free relay with the sixth best time in school history with a 7:33.10.
Navy has a comfortable lead heading into the final day of competition. The Midshipmen have 592 points, 141 points ahead of second placed Bucknell. Colgate, the two-time defending champion, is in third with 396.