WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING

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Lehner Breaks Backstroke Record at Zippy Invite

Andrea Lehner

AKRON, OH – The University at Buffalo women's swimming and diving team remained in second place at the conclusion of the second night of action at the 2007 Zippy Invitational at Akron's Ocasek Natatorium. Through two nights, the Bulls have tallied 937 points, second to Mid-American Conference rival Ohio's 1,033 among the 11 schools.

Sophomore Andrea Lehner (Lockport, NY/Orchard Park) was instrumental in UB's success on Saturday night as she broke a UB record and two meet records. Lehner shattered the school mark in winning the 100-yard backstroke in 56.27. The mark broke Inger Rooneem's 1998 UB backstroke mark of 56.83 and the meet record of 57.34 as Lehner won the race by more than a second over Ohio's Emily Wylam, who's 57.30 clocking also was faster than the previous meet record.

Lehner led off the Bulls' victorious 200-yard medley relay team as UB narrowly missed setting another school record. The foursome of Lehner (backstroke), Ashley Schaffert (Lockport, NY/Lockport) (breaststroke), Sam Palma (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) (butterfly) and Jessie Koltz (Chenango Bridge, NY/Chenango Valley) (freestyle) finished in 1:46.20, just four-hundredths of a second shy of the UB school record set in 2000.

The Bulls also had four second-place finishes on Saturday.

Sam Palma

Palma finished second in the 100-yard butterfly in a season-best 56.66 while Sam Eckert (Eden, NY/Eden) also made the championship final and finished sixth in 58.37, also a season best. Schaffert collected a season-best time with her second-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke. The sophomore turned in a 1:06.11 clocking in the final.

Meili Carpenter (Boulder, CO/Fairview), who won Friday's women's one-meter diving event, placed second on the three-meter board on Saturday night. Carpenter finished with a total of 264.45 points in her six dives, second to Akron's Kathryn Carter (319.60).

UB's 800-yard freestyle relay team also turned in a second-place finish as the night came to a conclusion. The foursome of Lehner, Jordan Deren (Lackawanna, NY/Nardin Academy), Renae Sharkey (Fords, NJ/Metuchen) and Kim Dale (Cary, NC/Raleigh Charter) finished in 7:40.07, a season-best time, cutting more 22 seconds off the previous season-best.

Deren won the B final of the 200-yard freestyle in 1:56.80 to place ninth overall.

Competition concludes Sunday.

Team scores: Ohio 1,033, UB 937, Illinois State 843, Xavier 738, Clarion 737, Akron 725, Duquesne 598, Shippensburg 318, Bloomsburg 250, Niagara 160, Alma 33.