COLLEGE PARK, Md. (11/18/06) – The Colgate women’s 800 free relay team broke the school and Patriot League record by more than two seconds with its time of 7:31.67 on the second day of the Terrapin Cup Invitational at the University of Maryland. The Raiders moved up a spot to eighth place in the overall standings with 170 points, three spots and 22 points ahead of league rival Navy.

The team, composed of freshman Kate Murphy (Williamsburg, Va.) and sophomores Emily Murphy (Syracuse, N.Y.), Beverly Walker (Marietta, Ga.) and Lisa Marchi (Scottsdale, Ariz.), out-swam powerhouses Villanova, Yale, NC State and Kansas to take the bronze. Kate Murphy’s lead-off leg of 1:52.62 ranks fifth on Colgate’s all-time performances list. Walker’s split of 1:52.02 was faster than her split at last year’s Patriot League Championship, and it came after she had already raced in five events earlier in the day. Her performance cut a three-second deficit to Yale down to 0.87 seconds, at which point Marchi took over. She stayed just behind Yale’s anchor until she took over the lead on the final turn and never looked back.

“Lisa swam great,” head coach Stephen Jungbluth said. “For someone who has been injured all semester, Marchi was a champ today. She raced her 200 just as well as any race she swam last season. It was fantastic to see.”

Many of the same Raiders also contributed to Colgate’s sixth-place finish in the 200 medley relay earlier in the day. The team posted a time of 1:46.86, which ranks third in school history. Walker swam the lead-off leg in 27.30, which is her best 50 back time of the season, and she was followed by junior Kacy Reams (Evanston, Ill.), Kate Murphy, and Emily Murphy.

Walker posted a fifth-place finish in the 100 back, posting a time of 56.87, which ranks second all-time. She finished seventh in the 100 fly with a time of 57.11 after she swam a 56.98 in the morning preliminary. Walker’s preliminary time ranks sixth in school history, and her finals time ranks eighth. Kate Murphy was 17^th in the fly with a time of 57.00, which ranks seventh on the all-time list.

Marchi came in 11^th in the 200 free with a time of 1:51.98, which ranks third on the top-10 performances list. Kate Murphy was right behind her in 13^th with a time of 1:52.71, which ranks seventh on the performances list, after posting a 1:52.65, which ranks sixth, in the preliminary race.

Freshman Caitlin Curran (Alpharetta, Ga.) placed 12^th in the 100 breast with a time of 1:06.11, which ranks eighth all-time at Colgate. Reams finished 15^th in the event with a time of 1:07.21. She swam a season-best 1:06.97 in the prelim.

Senior Gretchen Swarr (Southport, Conn.) finished 15^th in the one-meter diving competition with a score of 178.35. Junior Colby Seamans (Naperville, Ill.) came in 23^rd in the 400 IM, posting a time of 4:35.20 in the finals after swimming a season-best 4:35.10 in the prelim.

The Terrapin Cup Invitational concludes on Saturday, Nov. 18, with preliminary events starting at 10:00 a.m., and finals beginning at 6:00 p.m.