Friday, March 25, 2011

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Two Westminster College women's swimmers earned All-America honors by finishing in the top six of the 100-yard breaststroke Friday night at the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships. The four-day meet is being held at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on the campus of the University of Tennessee.

Senior Courtney Herdt (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls) became an All-American for the first time in her career as she placed fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:03.58 in the finals. She swam faster in the preliminary round with a school-record time of 1:02.85, but even if she would've equaled her preliminary time in the finals she still would've placed fourth.

Emory's April Whitley won the race with a time of 1:02.11.

Herdt is just the second NCAA All-American in women's team history and the 12th women's All-American overall. Westminster was an NAIA school until 1998 and there were 10 women's NAIA All-Americans through 1994.

Junior Caitlin Lehberger (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington) achieved All-America status for the fifth time in her career and the second time during the meet as she placed sixth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:03.65 in the finals. Her time was slightly slower than her time of 1:03.63 in the preliminary. Lehberger, the previous holder of the school's 100 breaststroke record before Herdt eclipsed it, placed fourth in the event last year.

Herdt and Lehberger are seeded third and fourth, respectively, in the 200 breaststroke which will be held during the final day of the meet Saturday.  

Through 25 completed events, Westminster was in 13th place at the NCAA meet with 43 points from Lehberger and Herdt.

About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College ranks first in the nation as "Best College for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math," according to Forbes.com. Westminster is a top tier liberal arts college, a national leader in graduation rate performance, and a "Great School, Great Price," according to U.S. News Best Colleges guide. Westminster ranked 38th among liberal arts colleges, 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 373 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.