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Men's Swimmers Make History At NCAA Championships-Men 13th, Women-18th After Day One of 2010 NCAA Nationals

Men's Swimmers Make History At NCAA Championships-Men 13th, Women-18th After Day One of 2010 NCAA Nationals
March 8, 2010

Canton, OH-It was a historic first day for the University of Bridgeport men's swimming team at the 2010 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships,  as the Purple Knights, a first-year varsity program, grabbed five Honorable Mention All-America honors and sit in thirteenth place overall with 26 points. 

In individual events, sophomore Pitor Safronczyk (Bialystok, Poland) became the first  swimming in school history to take Honorable Mention All-America honors at the national championship with a 10th place finish in the 200-yard individual medley (1:50.84).
 
In the men's 50-yard freestyle, freshman Toni Valcic (Ribnica, Slovenia) took 11th place (20.64) and junior Nik Savic (Novi Sad, Serbia) grabbed 16th place with a time of 21.09, as they both earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades.
 
The UB men completed their excellent first night of competition by taking 11th in the 200-yard IM Relay with a time of 1:32.73 good more Honorable Mention All-America honors, as freshmen Julio Lopez (Monterrey, Mexico) and Eddie Phillips (Missouri City, TX) were part of the team either in the prelims or the final to also earn Honorable Mention All-America with Safronczyk, Valcic and Slavic.
 
On the women's side, the Purple Knights sit in 18th place after day one of the 2010 Division II NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship with 14 points after finishing tenth in the 200-yard IM Relay with a time of 1:45.13. All six women for Bridgeport, who earned trips to the 2010 National Championship: Alena Gorlanova (SR, Omsk, Russia), Anna Krasnowska (FR, Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Poland), Anna Kwiatkowska (SO, Warsaw, Poland), Roxana Purcelea (JR, Constanta, Romania), Sandra Schmitz (SO, Breuhl, Germany) plus Maris Visse (SO, Tallinn, Estonia), were part of that team either in prelims or the final, so they all earn Honorable Mention All-America honors, giving the UB men and women a total of 11 (all of the swimmers at the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championship from the University of Bridgeport) individuals who have already earned Honorable Mention All-America honors.
 
Action in the 2010 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships will continue through Saturday, March 13th.