For Immediate Release: March 2, 2006

2006 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships

FREDONIA, NY - Carleton College is hosting the 2006 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota, Aquatics Center. The women's championship meet will be held March 9-11 and the men's event on the following weekend, March 16-18. You’ll find information about the championships at the following website: http://go.carleton.edu/sdncaa06/.

The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has several athletes who qualified to participate in the women’s championship. The men’s participants have not been announced.

Fredonia freshman diver Kelly Sponholz (Alden) will be participating in 1-meter and 3-meter springboard diving. She is one of six freshmen competing in the field of 22 divers.

Cortland’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of Nikki LaBarge (Morrisonville/Peru), Allison Houseman (Wellsville), Marissa Bechtold (Lockport) and Lauren Friedlander (Woodbury/Syosset) qualified to compete with a seed time of 1:37.76. They will also swim the 400 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relays. Houseman will individually participate in the 50 free with a seed time of 24.14, the 100 free (54.25), and the 100 breast (1:09.52) event. LaBarge will participate in the 50 free (24.35) and Friedlander will be in the 200 backstroke (2:09.40) event.

Senior Joanna Masterson (Canandaigua) will represent New Paltz in the 50, 100 and 200 free. Masterson posted a 24.01 seed time in the 50, 52.84 in the 100, and 1:56.90 in the 200.

Oswego State junior, Patricia Connolly (Malone) was called upon to participate in the 100 yard freestyle event after one of the finalists dropped out of the competition. Connolly was the first alternate after posting a provisional qualifying time of 53.21 seconds.

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