The University of Mary Washington women's swim team has won all 20 Capital Athletic Conference championships since the inception of the conference in 1991.  The UMW men's swim team has won 16 championships in the 20-year history of the CAC, including 10 straight. The Eagles are the favorites to extend those streaks when the 2011 CAC Championship is held Feb. 18-20 at St. Mary's College, Md. 

A change in the CAC lineup for the 2011 Championship is the addition of Frostburg State.  The Bobcats, under first-year coach Jun Yamaguchi, will join Hood, Marymount, Salisbury, St. Mary’s and York in trying to take the title away from the Eagles.

Mary Washington senior Stephen Clendenin, the two-time CAC Men’s Swimming Athlete of the Year (2009 and 2010) and previous CAC Men's Rookie of the Year (2008), returns for his final CAC championship.  He’ll get help from a strong UMW lineup, including 2010 CAC Rookie of the Year Nick Eckhoff.

York senior A.J. Bean, the defending champion in the 100 backstroke, will be among those challenging for CAC gold in the men’s competition.

Joining Clendenin in representing UMW for the final time at the CAC championship will be classmate Sarah Crocket, the 2010 CAC Women’s Swimming Athlete of the Year and 2008 CAC Women's Swimming Rookie of the Year.  Like Clendenin, Crockett has won multiple All-America awards at the NCAA championships during her career.

Joining Crockett to lead the UMW women’s team under first-year coach Abby Brethauer include 2009 CAC Women's Rookie of the Year Megan DeSmit.

St. Mary’s sophomore Kelly Heyde, the 2010 CAC Women’s Swimming Athlete of the Year, along with juniors Anna Macedonia of Marymount University, Arielle Harding of Hood College, Robin Stone of Salisbury University and Michaela Guild of York College, will challenge for opportunities to stand atop the medals podium throughout the championship weekend.

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/2010-11/2011_Championship_Site

Here is a brief look at each team heading into the 2011 CAC Swim Championships:

FROSTBURG STATE

The men’s swim team is optimistic about the upcoming Capital Athletic Conference Championships. Senior Bill Ford enters the championships with the ninth fastest time in the league this season in the 1,650 freestyle (19:07.69). He also holds the 16^th fastest time in the 100 backstroke (59.68). Ford capped the regular season with a pair of second-places finishes against Marymount on senior day two weeks ago. Sophomore Caleb Stair has the eighth fastest time in the 200 butterfly (2:12.60) and the 14^th best mark in the 100 butterfly (57.18). Stair has a combined seven wins and six runner-up showings in the two events this season.

Despite having a low number of women’s swimmers, FSU has plenty of individual talent. Sophomore Jessica Rice currently holds the 18^th fastest time in the 400 individual medley (5:37.30) in the CAC this year. She has six total wins on the season and captured the 400 time in a solid outing at the Yellow Jacket Invitational at Randolph-Macon. Sophomore Samantha Mulvey had a great all-around year but finished strong down the stretch. She did not finish outside the top three in any event in the final five meets and collected five wins, including four-straight wins in the 50-yard freestyle

HOOD

Hood has made great strides as the Blazers men’s swim team tapers for the conference meet, having won their final three meets and posting the eighth-best performance ranking in the nation in their regular season finale. Sophomore Andrew Bodine should be a contender in the sprints while senior Robbie Ennis will be a threat in the breaststroke events. First-year Connor Eliff has also excelled for the Blazers in the distance events as well.

Junior Arielle Harding has already taken down both women’s team school records in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and now has her sights set on making a statement amongst the league's elite at the conference championships. Senior Kristen Kucharski looks to close her Hood career on a high note and will contribute in the sprints as well as the backstroke and butterfly. The Blazer women showed a 105.1 percent improvement in their season-best times during Hood's final regular season meet of the season, a mark which ranked No. 1 amongst all NCAA Division III schools in the nation.

MARYMOUNT

The Saints men’s swim team closed out the regular season with a pair of wins to head into the CAC Championships on an upswing.  Freshman Michael Yelmgren has posted four top-five finishes in the CAC, claiming the third-best time in the 100 Backstroke, fourth-best in the 200 Backstroke and 1650 Freestyle and fifth-best in the 100 Butterfly.  Junior Everett Neiman owns the fifth-best time in the 1605 Freestyle, junior Ryan Kilmon has the eighth-best time in the 100 Backstroke, senior Brian Tinsman claims the ninth-fastest 100 Freestyle time and sophomore Tomas Baroz’s 200 Butterfly time is 10^th-best in the CAC.

The MU women’s team heads into the CAC Championships on a roll, winners if its last three meets by wide margins.  The Saints are led by junior Anna Macedonia, two-time CAC Swimmer of the Week and holder of three top-times in the conference this season.  Macedonia has posted CAC-bests in the 50 Freestyle and both the 100 and 200 Backstroke while owning top-10 times in the 100 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, and 200 IM as well. Also impressive for the Saints have been freshman Katie Moran and sophomore Kim Rizzo.  Moran has the seventh-best times in the CAC in both the 50 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle while Rizzo is top-10 in the 200 Backstroke, 200 IM and 400 IM. Marymount has also performed well in the relay events, claiming top-three times in the 200 Freestyle Relay, 400 Freestyle Relay, 800 Freestyle Relay and 400 Medley Relay.

MARY WASHINGTON

The Eagles will look to maintain its dominance of the CAC Championship meet, as the Eagles aim to win their 11th straight CAC title, and 17th overall. Returning CAC Swimmer of the Year and All-American Stephen Clendenin looks to lead a veteran group that includes reigning CAC Rookie of the Year Nick Eckhoff, as well as standouts Brad Dunn, Austin Clark, Andrew Cole, Billy Norfolk, and Ian McCormick. First year head coach Abby Brethauer, herself a former national champion at Kenyon College, will look to send multiple athletes to the NCAA Championships from this meet, with the hopes of a top-20 finish at the national meet.

The UMW women’s team will look to keep its unprecedented streak of CAC Championships in tact this weekend, as the Eagles look for consecutive CAC title number 21. All-Americans Sarah Crockett, Adriana Lesiuk, Cameron Figuers, and Megan DeSmit will look to propel the Eagles and return to the NCAA Championships from results this weekend, as the Eagles look to crack the national top 10 with multiple athletes and relays advancing to the national meet.

SALISBURY

The men’s team heads into CAC Championship weekend with an abundance of talent, hoping to improve upon the squad’s fourth-place finish in 2010. Promising freshmen James Gough, Christopher Franklin and Chip Helferstay are all expected to post solid times; Gough’s time of 2:00.62 in the 200-yard backstroke is the second-fastest time in the conference. Several Sea Gull seniors will also contribute to Salisbury’s cause: Joe Wisda, Drew Robichaud and Brian Allen, who each hold a top-10 time in the CAC in their respective events, will be looking to improve upon their marks as they compete in their final CAC Championship.

The SU women’s team looks to improve upon its fifth-place finish in the CAC Championships last year, with the help of several seasoned veterans as well as fresh-faced talent. Junior Robin Stone’s 100- and 200-yard backstroke times (1:04.85, 2:19.88) are eighth- and sixth-best in-conference, respectively. Another Sea Gull to look out for throughout the weekend is freshman Danielle Dunn, who boasts the second-fastest 100-yard breaststroke time in the conference (1:08.59). Additionally, sophomore Sarah Ault’s 100-yard butterfly time of 1:02.20 gives her the sixth-fastest time in the CAC.

ST. MARY’S

Two-year team captains, Nico Pinto and Jackson Webb, and the Seahawks hope to break into the top two at the CAC Championships after finishing third the past two years.  Following a strong dual meet season, a healthy Billy DeBoisssiere and newcomers Cameron Hedquist and Thor Petersen are poised to challenge in the breaststroke and freestyle events while Webb should have another solid performance in the 100 butterfly after a third-place finish last year.

Kelly Heyde, the 2010 CAC Rookie of the Year and NCAA qualifier, is back to defend her titles in the 200 and 400 individual medley as well as the 200 butterfly.  Team captain Sofia Sokolove has always been solid for the Seahawks at the CAC championship meet and this year should be no different as she looks to end her career in style.  After setting a school record in the 100 breaststroke this season, Chelsea Gulliver looks to place in the top three of the event.

YORK

YCP enters into the 2011 Capital Athletic Conference Championships looking to finish the season on a strong note. After facing a more difficult schedule this season, the Spartans have been toughened over the season and should be ready for an excellent performance. Senior captain A.J. Bean, the 2010 CAC champion in the 100 backstroke, will look to post outstanding times and finishes, most notably in the backstroke events. Steven Tobin and Jamie Hicks will look for medal-stand finishes in the breaststroke events. Sophomore Steven Mercer, a top-eight performer in the IM last season, will have an opportunity to shine in the intermediate medley. Junior Jack Gottschalk will look to continue his strong performances in the distance freestyle events. All together, the Green and White will look for another top-two team finish at the annual championships.

The Spartans women’s squad enters the 2011 Capital Athletic Conference Championships with high hopes. After taking fourth overall last season, the team’s best finish in over a decade, the Spartans are primed for another quality showing at the championship meet. Most notably, junior freestyle swimmer Michaela Guild has put together an outstanding season. She has consistently posted quality times and has not lost a 500 freestyle race since York's second meet of the season. Fellow junior Kathy Murphy has put up solid finishes in the backstroke this season while sophomore Chelsea Ross will look for quality outings in the sprint freestyle events. Anna Schuster and Jenny Hinkle are Spartan rookies who could make noise in just their first CAC Championships.