The University of Mary Washington women's swim team has won all 19 Capital Athletic Conference championships since the inception of the conference in 1991.  The UMW men's swim team has won 15 championships in the 18-year history of the CAC, including nine straight. The Eagles are the favorite to extend those streaks when the 2010 CAC Championship is held Feb. 12-14 at St. Mary's College, Md. 

Junior Stephen Clendenin, the 2008 CAC Men's Rookie of the Year and 2009 CAC Men's Swimming Athlete of the Year, returns to lead the strong Mary Washington men's team.  NCAA qualifiers Nina Sawyer and Sarah Crocket, the 2008 CAC Women's Rookie of the Year, along with 2009 CAC Women's Rookie of the Year Megan DeSmit, will lead UMW's charge for another women's crown.

UMW junior Brad Dunn (200 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle) and sophomores Allie Beckenstein (400 IM) and Virginia Page (1,650 freestyle), along with St. Mary's senior Rachel Hotchko (100 & 200 butterfly), Salisbury senior Mike Ferrari (100 & 200 breaststroke) and York senior Michael Murphy (100 freestyle), also return to defend 2009 individual conference championships.

Trials will begin each day at 10 a.m. with the evening sessions, including the consolation and championship races, begin at 6 p.m.  Prior to Sunday's final evening of competition, the annual Senior Recognition ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Ticket prices are $15 for the six-session weekend package, $8 for a single-day pass (morning and evening sessions) and $5 for any of the six single-sessions.

Complete information, including directions, parking, ticket prices, hotels and restaurants in the area of St. Mary's City, Md., are available at the CAC Swim Championship website:
http://www.cacsports.com/sports/mswim/2009-10/news/2010CAC Championship Site

Here is a brief look at each team heading into the 2010 CAC Swim Championships.

GALLAUDET

The Gallaudet men's team enters the CAC championships fresh off its first conference win in two years. The Bison received a huge boost from the addition of sophomore Brian Bennett, a transfer from Northern Colorado University, during the month of January. Bennett and junior Daniel DiDonna were members of the USA National Deaf Swimming team this past September in 2009 Deaflympics in Taipei. The pair will aim to earn all-conference honors at the championships after Gallaudet was shutout last year. Junior Kris Lauderbaugh and freshman Dan Burton have also made an impact for the Buff and Blue this season.

The GU women's team is ready to improve on its sixth-place showing in the CAC championships from last year as the Bison enter this year's championships with more experience and new faces ready to make a splash. GU is led by junior Carlisle Robinson who earned all-conference honors in the 200-yard butterfly last year. Fellow junior Misella Tomita and senior Rachel Steingieser add leadership for the Bison. Freshman Tong Song from Beijing, China, has made an immediate impact for Gallaudet.

HOOD   

Hood men's swimming senior captain Chris Moreland advanced to the consolation finals in three events at the 2009 CACs, earning top-16 times in the 200 and 400 individual medleys as well as the 200 breaststroke. Freshmen breaststroke specialist Andrew Bodine and backstroker/butterflyer Jonathan Moughty should contribute to the Blazer scoring as well.

Hood senior women's swimming captain Erica Hamor swam in a pair of consolation finals in 2009 in the 200 breaststroke and the 400 individual medley and owns Hood's top times of the season in 11 individual events. Junior Kristen Kucharski could be a factor in the sprints as well as the backstroke and butterfly events.

MARYMOUNT
Marymount will depend on senior Bryan Morch and junior Brian Tinsman to lead them into the CAC championships.  Both swimmers were All CAC last year.  Morch looks to break through individually in the fly events and Tinsman in the freestyle events.

The Saints' women's team will be led into the CAC championships by sophomore Anna Macedonia and seniors Alex Bekampis, Nicole Hallberg, and Amanda Sperling each of whom were all conference performers last season.  Macedonia has already posted an NCAA B-cut time in the 100 back.

MARY WASHINGTON

Mary Washington enters the CAC Championships riding high, coming off an impressive win at Gettysburg in the final dual meet, nationally ranked at 21^st in the nation, and gunning for its 16^th CAC Championship. In addition to veteran standouts such as Stephen Clendenin (the reigning CAC Swimmer of the Year), Justin Anderson, Brad Dunn, and Billy Norfolk, the Eagles are bolstered by a talented group of newcomers, including Jack McHugh, Nick Eckhoff, Andrew Cole, and Austin Clark. The Eagles finished the season undefeated against NCAA Division III opponents, and has high hopes for sending multiple racers to the NCAA Championships.

The Eagles' women's team will be looking to gain its 20^th consecutive CAC Championship this weekend, led by a strong group that is ranked fourth in the nation - its highest ranking ever. Led by NCAA qualifiers Sarah Crockett and Nina Sawyer, as well as veteran standouts Allie Beckenstein, Megan DeSmit (last year's CAC Rookie of the Year), Adriana Lesiuk, and Virginia page.  Freshman Cameron Figuers will also add punch to the Eagle lineup that hopes to send multiple racers and relays to the NCAA Championships.

SALISBURY

Salisbury will look to close out their successful 2009-10 campaign with big wins at the CAC Championships.  Last year, Mike Ferrari captured first-place in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke; the senior will look to defend these titles and close out his career as a Sea Gull on top. Other individuals to look out for are freshmen Eric Robichaud and Paul Zoli, who each won two individual events in the Sea Gulls' final regular-season meet on Jan. 30 to give Salisbury (4-2 CAC) its sixth victory of the year.

Salisbury's Katy Turner swam her way into the record books at last year's CAC Championships in the 200-yard butterfly, clocking in at 2:15.57. The junior from Salisbury, Md., will look to lead her Gulls to the team's first CAC title. Sophomore Katie Fitzenreiter will also look to carry her regular-season success over into the championships, as she notched two first-place finishes in Salisbury's meet at Catholic University on Jan. 30 to give the Gulls (3-3 CAC) their fifth win of the season.

ST. MARY'S

St. Mary's team captains Nico Pinto and Jackson Webb, along with newcomer Billy DeBoissiere, are hoping to build off the Seahawks' successful third-place finish at last season's CAC championships.  The school's record holder in the 200 butterfly, Webb was a two-time All-CAC selection last season and leads a group of three returning all-conference picks.

Seahawks freshman Kelly Heyde is sure to make her presence known at her first conference championships as Heyde has done all-season long.  Joining Heyde in making the Seahawks a top contender for the women's title after finishing second for the past two seasons are two-time NCAA qualifier Rachel Hotchko and team captains Monika Disque and Sofia Sokolove.

YORK

York has put on an impressive showing this season, having posted a 10-1 record for the year.  Senior Mike Murphy returns to the CAC Championships looking to defend his 100 freestyle title from last season while fellow senior Clark Arnold looks to make some noise in the butterfly.  AJ Bean, a Spartan junior, has registered a fantastic season and will strive to continue that at championships. The combination of York's quality returners with an influx of rookie talent, including Steven Mercer, Andy Woods, and Will McLennan, should make the Green and White a formidable opponent at the championships.

York has made great strides toward becoming one of the conference's premier programs. Seniors Ashley Stanton (sprint freestyle) and Molly Wasik (backstroke) have posted strong seasons as they have led a young Spartan squad. Heather MacLennan goes into her first CAC Championships looking to battle for several backstroke and freestyle titles as well as making NCAA cuts. Fellow sophomores Liz Grey and Michaela Guild along with freshmen Alex Minsky and Chelsea Ross will look to push the Spartans into the upper echelon of the league come championships.