Friday, March 19, 2010

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - All three Westminster College swimmers attained at least an honorable mention for All-America status in the 100-yard breaststroke Friday during the third day of the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships held at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center.

Sophomore Caitlin Lehberger (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington) earned her second All-America nod and second fourth-place finish of the meet as she took fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a school-record time of 1:03.79 in the finals Friday night after going 1:04.12 in the preliminary. On Wednesday in the 200 individual medley, Lehberger became the Westminster women's team's first-ever NCAA All-American and first All-American overall since 1994.

Junior Courtney Herdt (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls) missed All-America status by one place as she took ninth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.31. Herdt's time in the consolation finals heat was actually faster than the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-place finishers' times in the championship finals heat, but Herdt's ninth-place time of 1:05.04 in the preliminary prevented her from advancing to the final heat that featured the Top 8 from the preliminary.

Senior Ben Gutmann (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) of the Westminster men's team earned an honorable mention for All-America with a 13th-place and school-record time of 56.86 in Friday night's final after he touched at 56.94 for 14th place in the afternoon preliminary.

All three Westminster swimmers will swim in the 200 breaststroke on Saturday in the final day of the meet.

About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is a top tier liberal arts college and a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges. Westminster ranked third among liberal arts colleges in social mobility, according to the Washington Monthly College Guide, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 371 Colleges" and "Best in the Northeast" by The Princeton Review, and is named to the President's Honor Roll for excellence in service learning.

Nearly 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty while choosing from 41 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa., campus. Visit www.westminster.edu/advantage to view "Advantage: Westminster" A Strategic Plan 2010-2020.