March 3, 2005

Sarah Costanza	Becky Grossman

GENEVA, N.Y.—William Smith College junior Sarah Costanza (Gwynedd Mercy/Ambler, Pa.) and senior Becky Grossman (Mercersburg Academy/Penfield, N.Y.) are gearing up to compete in the NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on March 10-12 in Holland, Mich. Costanza is making her second consecutive appearance, while Grossman is a first-time qualifier.

“I knew it would be an interesting season when I had everyone write down their goals for the season and Sarah and Becky both had making nationals as a goal,” said Head Coach Kelly Kisner. “As a coach you want your athletes to aim high, but you never know whether or not they will reach that ultimate goal. With Sarah and Becky, they both worked hard and did the right things to earn the opportunity to compete among the best in the nation.”

One of 22 divers recently selected by the NCAA Division III Diving Committee to compete for a national title on the 1- and 3-meter boards, Costanza earned honorable mention All-American accolades in 2004 with a 13th-place finish on the 1-meter board. She took 17th in the 3-meter competition.

Costanza continued her record-breaking ways this season, besting her own records in both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions. In the season opener, she racked up a record 262.80 points for six dives on the 3-meter board. That record didn’t last long as Costanza upped the standard by nearly five points with a score of 267.40 in a dual meet with RIT.

At the Liberty League Championships, Costanza not only defended her 1-meter crown with a score of 364.70, but also rewrote the records book with a score of 398.90 for 11 dives on the 3-meter board for second place.

Costanza currently owns the William Smith records on both boards for six dives and the 3-meter mark for 11 dives.

Grossman will compete in the 100-yard butterfly after surpassing the automatic qualifying standard with a time of 57.71 in a time trial at the NYSWCAA Championships. Grossman had gone under the provisional qualifying standard in the 100 fly preliminaries with a time of 58.19, but Kisner knew that her time might not make the cut and had Grossman time trial the event the next day.

“After she went 58.19 on Friday morning I knew we had to make a decision whether or not to time trial the 100 fly,” Kisner said. “Between sessions I tried to find the times from some of the conference championship meets going on around the region because I knew that seeing those times would give me a pretty good idea of her chances of getting in with her preliminary time.”

Grossman also will compete in the 50 and 100 free competitions after qualifying provisionally in those races as well.

Originally told she would not be able to swim this year due to shoulder injuries, Grossman battled through the pain and reached her ultimate goal of making nationals. Not only did Grossman earn a spot in the NCAA Championships at the NYSWCAA Championships, she also set five records and matched another along the way.

She currently owns the individual records for the 50 fly (26.97), 100 fly (57.71), and 50 free (24.46), and shares the 100 free record (53.46). Grossman also is a member of the record-setting 200 free (1:39.84) and 200 medley (1:53.64) relay teams.

Hosted by Hope College, the NCAA Division III Championships kick off on March 10, at 11 a.m. For complete information on the championships visit: www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/announce10.html.

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