Atlantic 10 Swimming and Diving Championships

WHEN:  Wednesday, Feb. 15 through Saturday, Feb. 18
WHERE:  SPIRE Institute | Geneva, Ohio
SCHEDULE:  Click here
LIVE VIDEO:  Click here
LIVE RESULTS:  Click here

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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's and women's swimming and diving teams are back in action on Wednesday, competing in the Atlantic 10 Swimming and Diving Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

The A-10 Championships begin on Wednesday, Feb. 15 and conclude Saturday, Feb. 18.  Each day of the four-day competition will include a morning preliminary session and an evening final session, with the top 16 performers competing in the finals.

"Preparation has gone really well," Mason head coach Peter Ward said.  "It's been nice to not have to compete for a couple of weeks and just be able to concentrate on practice and preparation for a championship.  We've been able to individualize what each swimmer needs and we look forward to getting back on the blocks and competing."

On the women's side, Mason finished in sixth place with 345 points at last year's Atlantic 10 Championships.  Six-time defending champion Richmond looks to capture its 15th A-10 Championship in the last 16 years.  The Spiders won last year's title with 653.5 points, Duquesne finished second (487 points) and Davidson was third (466 points). 

Fordham, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis round out the 11-team field on the women's side.

"We have a strong senior class on the women's side with several conference champions," Ward said.  "They know how to win at this level and how they work with the younger swimmers on the team is very important."

The Patriots women's team has nine swimmers that have won at least one event during the season.

Mason senior Sydney Fisher recorded 19 individual first place finishes this season.  She has won the 50-yard freestyle in each of the last two A-10 Championships.  Last year, Fisher broke her own A-10 record and lowered her team and meet record with a time of 22.73 in the event.

Junior Dorothy Reilly has posted nine individual first place finishes, senior Sarah Brallier registered five first place finishes, junior Amy Tansill touched the wall first four times and senior Steff Maurer made the podium a total of 11 times this season.

At the 2016 A-10 Championships, Maurer took bronze in the 200-yard backstroke (1:58.67) and Brallier placed third in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:15.70).  Reilly earned a fourth place finish in the 200-yard butterfly (2:01.17) and was sixth in the 400-yard IM (4:24.77).

"It's a culmination of all our work and this is what we prepare for," Ward said.  "It all comes down to the championship at the end.  That's how we are ranked as a team, so it's important that we swim well.  It's one of the few opportunities that the athletes are fully rested and prepared, so if they have a chance to make a NCAA qualifying time, this is probably going to be it."

The Mason men's team also finished in sixth place in last year's Atlantic 10 Championships with 396 points.  Massachusetts led the entire competition and won the title for the second consecutive year and 17th time overall with 671 points.  St. Bonaventure finished in second place (482 points), while La Salle was third (473.5 points). 

Davidson, Fordham, George Washington and Saint Louis will round out the eight-team field on the men's side in this year's competition.

"It is grueling to go through a long competition, especially the swimmers who are in preliminaries and finals every day," Ward said.  "The biggest thing for them is what they do in between and how they recover.  We have a very tight itinerary that they are following to make sure that they are getting everything they need between the sessions to be able to come back the next time and do it again."

This season, freshman Attila Kiss led Mason with six individual first place finishes and tied for the team lead by finishing in the top three 18 times.  Junior Steven Craig and classmate Alec Morin each ended the season with five individual first place finishes. 

"On the men's side we have a bigger and stronger freshman class," Ward said.  "They are experienced and can take a lot from what they've achieved during the year.  Whether it's with times they've posted or wins that they have earned and also with the training and preparation to be confident.  We'll be relying on the upperclassman to make sure they understand what they need to do.  They've all been to big meets before, so they should be able to handle it."

Jesse Burnley took third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:38.46) at the A-10 Championships last season, while Morin swam to a first place finish in the consolation finals in the 100-yard butterfly (1:38.46) and Craig just missed a spot on the podium with a fourth place finish in the 400-yard IM (3:57.02).

The Patriots men's team had 10 different swimmers win at least one event during the season.  In the deep end of the pool, Mason senior diver Paul Helfgott has won eight events and placed second five times this season.

The Championships begin at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15 with the women's one-meter diving competition.  The Championships will continue Thursday through Saturday, with preliminaries scheduled for 10 a.m. and finals slated for 6:30 p.m. each day.

The Atlantic 10 Championships mark the final team competition of the season for Mason.

"It's always a hard time for me," Ward said.  "It's what you do and prepare for all year so when it ends, it's a bit of a struggle.  Especially this year with the senior class we have.  They've had a huge impact on what we've done."