February 22, 2005

Sarah Costanza	Kate Feller
Sara Beth Euwer	Emily Block
Suzie Opalka	Kate Schneider

GENEVA, N.Y.—Six members of the William Smith College swimming and diving team were named to the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) All-Academic team this past weekend at the state championships meet.

Senior Sara Beth Euwer (Westfield/Westfield, N.J.), juniors Sarah Costanza (Gwynedd Mercy/Ambler, Pa.), Kate Feller (Avon/Avon, N.Y.), and Suzie Opalka (Academy of Notre Dame/Hollis, N.H.), and sophomores Emily Block (Governor Dummer/Stratham, N.H.) and Kate Schneider (Skaneateles/Skaneateles, N.Y.) all were recognized for their efforts in both the classroom and the pool. This marks the second consecutive year Costanza, Feller, and Opalka have earned the honor.

Swimming the freestyle and butterfly events all season, Euwer bested her previous personal best in the 200-yard butterfly by nearly a second with a time of 2:55.11 over the weekend. She also posted her fastest time of the year in the 50 free at the state championships, touching the wall in 30.11.

Costanza has continued to build her diving resume, setting two records and exceeding the NCAA qualifying standard three times this season. Capturing her second straight 1-meter Liberty League diving title, Costanza also eclipsed her record for 11 dives on the 3-meter board at the Liberty League Championships with a runner-up score of 398.90. Undefeated in dual meets this season, she finished second in both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions at the NYSWCAA Championships to earn Diver of the Meet honors. Meeting the qualifying standard the required two times, Costanza submitted her tape to the NCAA Division III Diving committee and will find out on Feb. 25, if she is one of the 22 divers selected to participate in the NCAA Championships.

A freestyle specialist, Feller returned for the second half of the season after spending the first semester studying abroad. She captured fifth place out of 20 swimmers in the 50 free at the Skidmore Invitational with a time of 26.64. This past weekend, Feller posted her fast time of the year in the 50 free (26.16) and was a member of the 400 medley relay team that took fourth in the B Final.

Opalka competed primarily in the backstroke and distance events this season. She smashed her personal best in the 400 individual medley by over 15 seconds in the preliminaries of the state meet, covering the distance in 5:17.00. She also shaved two seconds off her season-best time in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:09.72.

Competing primarily in the freestyle and breaststroke events, Block turned in her fastest 50 free of the year at the Liberty League Championships. She also competed in the 200 breaststroke at the conference meet, finishing with a time of 3:00.79.

Schneider, a freestyler and backstroker, posted a pair of personal bests at the state championships last weekend. She cut a second off her personal best in the 50 free, touching the wall in 30.17 and set a new personal record by nearly three seconds in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:15.97.

The athletes named to the NYSWCAA All-Academic team must carry a minimum 3.3 grade-point average from the previous two semesters. First-years swimmers are ineligible for consideration.

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