Three Oswego State divers have been invited to participate in the 2010 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships to be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 17-20. Senior Eileen McMahon (Clay, N.Y.), junior Shawn Merlin (Palmyra, N.Y.), and sophomore Eric Messina (Latham, N.Y.) will compete in the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events.

McMahon, who is making her first trip to the NCAA Championships, is one of three SUNYAC female divers to be invited to the national competition.  She took home second place on the 1-meter board with 429.40 points and finished in fourth place on the 3-meter board with 397.05 points at the conference championships three weeks ago.

Oswego State men’s diver Eric Messina and women’s swimmer Jenny VanEtten headline the list of Laker swimmers and divers named to the SUNY Athletic Conference All-Conference team released by the conference office on Wednesday. Messina (So., Latham, N.Y.), a first-team selection, was also named the SUNYAC Co-Diver of the Meet after winning the 3-meter event with 508.60 points and finishing fourth on the 1-meter board with 452.85 points.

VanEtten (Sr., Ravena, N.Y.) was selected to the all-conference first team based on finishing first in the 200 IM (2:10.73), third in the 200 breaststroke (2:24.32), fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.52), and a member of the fifth-place 200, 400, and 800 freestyle relays.

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Swimming and Diving
Swimming and Diving Squads Finish Fifth At SUNYAC Championships; Messina Wins 3-Meter Diving Title

Sophomore Eric Messina (Latham, N.Y.) was crowned the conference champion on the 3-meter springboard after scoring 508.60 points to highlight the final day of competition for the Oswego State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams at the SUNYAC Championships on Saturday. The Laker women and men each finished in fifth place scoring 407 and 310 points, respectively. Geneseo took first place on both sides, as the men compiled 829 points and the women posted 814. The three-day meet was hosted by Erie Community College in Buffalo.

Other divers that performed well on the day included Eileen McMahon (Sr., Clay, N.Y.), who finished second on the 1-meter springboard with a score of 429.40 points, and Shawn Merlin (Jr., Palmyra, N.Y.), who took fourth on the 3-meter with 451.80 points.

The Oswego State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams each sit in fifth place with 198 and 275 points, respectively, after the second day of competition at the SUNYAC Championships hosted by Erie Community College in Buffalo. Dereck Harmon (Fr., Poteet, Texas) turned in the top individual performance of the day by garnering third place in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.27. Geneseo is in first place on the women’s side with 535 points, while the men lead with 530 points heading into the final day on Saturday.

Eric Dlugolecki (Sr., Liverpool, N.Y.) posted the other Laker men’s top-eight finish in the 100 butterfly after touching the wall in 54.13 for eighth place.  The 200 medley relay consisting of Brandon Hatch (So., Plattsburgh, N.Y.), Harmon, Nick Dupree (So., Vestal, N.Y.), and Nick Masia (Sr., Pine City, N.Y.) captured fifth place after posting a result of 1:39.22.  In the final event of the date, the 800 free relay placed ninth with a time of 7:17.46.  Relay members included Kyle Lounsberry (Jr., Nichols, N.Y.), Kyle Hoag (So., Dansville, N.Y.), Dlugolecki, and Masia.

Senior Jenny VanEtten (Ravena, N.Y.) captured first-place honors in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:10.73 to highlight the first day of the SUNYAC Swimming and Diving Championships for the Oswego State men’s and women’s squads. VanEtten’s time in the event was over two seconds faster than the second place finisher, and met the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. The Laker women are in fourth place with 139 points, while the Laker men sit in sixth place with 99 points. The meet, which is being held at Erie Community College in Buffalo, continues through Saturday.

VanEtten was joined by Kelly Williams (Sr., Ballston Spa, N.Y.), Nikki Dean (Jr., Lansing, N.Y.), and Emily Plummer (Fr., Horseheads, N.Y.) on the 200 freestyle relay that took fifth place with a time of 1:40.54.  In the women’s 400 medley relay, VanEtten, Dean, and Plummer teamed up with Leah Matthews (Sr., Youngstown, N.Y.) to place sixth in the 400 medley relay after turning in a time of 4:08.44.  Dean also placed fifth in the 500 freestyle with a result of 5:17.12.