Photo Credit: Dominick Reuter
Catamount All-Access | Photos (Flickr)
Siena Meet Highlights

SWIMMING AND DIVING WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont swimming and diving team travels to Vestal, N.Y. on Saturday for a key meet against a pair of America East opponents in host Binghamton and preseason conference favorite Boston University. The Cats have had success against the league of late, taking 11 of their last 14 conference tilts.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
BINGHAMTON: The Bearcats opened their season at the Western New York Invitational, hosted by the University at Buffalo on October 10 in their only meet of the season. There was no team scoring in the meet that also included squads from Buffalo, Niagara, Canisus and Saint Bonaventure. Freshman Tin Wai Siu led Binghamton at the meet with wins in the 100 and 200 butterfly events. The Catamounts have defeated Binghamton in each of the last three years, including last season 157-87.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY: The Terriers are 2-0 on the season after defeating both Massachusetts and Maine to start the year. The America East preseason favorite, Boston University won the America East Championship last season. Against UMass, the Terriers claimed first place in 10 events, including four by freshmen.

LAST TIME OUT: Vermont opened up the home portion of its schedule on Saturday with a 167-124 victory over visiting Siena at Forbush Natatorium. Junior Kate Weaver led the way for Vermont with three wins on the afternoon. Weaver took first in the 100 (54.22) and 200 (1:54.08) freestyle events and also the 100 butterfly (59.57). Senior Colleen Clark was also a multiple-event winner, as she placed first in the 50 (25.00) and 500 (5:05.95) freestyle events.

PERFECT START: With the win over Siena on Saturday, the Catamounts opened the year 4-0 for only the second time in school history. Vermont also won its first four meets during the 2006-07 season, on its way to an 11-5 mark. The Cats have never started a season 5-0.

RECORD BREAKERS: Vermont broke two records in its win over Siena on Saturday. The 400 freestyle relay team of Kate Weaver, Abby Mundt, Hannah Center and Colleen Clark set a pool record with a time of 3:37.07, while Kailey Gardner broke the school freshmen record in the 400 IM in a time of 4:36.01.

FIRST TIME: Freshman Karole-Ann Bayer and sophomore Jordan Schweizer each picked up their first collegiate wins on Saturday, as Bayer won the 200 backstroke (2:14.48) and Schweizer took the top spot in the 200 breaststroke (2:30.95). Schweizer was named the UVM/Sheraton Hotel Student-Athlete of the Week for her efforts.

AGAINST THE LEAGUE: Vermont went 4-1 against America East opponents during the regular season last year, as the Catamounts defeated New Hampshire, Maine, Binghamton and Stony Brook, while their only loss came at Boston University. With a win over Stony Brook in the opening meet of the year, Vermont has now won 11 of its last 14 against conference opponents.

BALANCED ATTACK: One of the keys to the Cats’ success is consistent contributions from each class and they received that again in their last time out against Siena. Senior Colleen Clark won two events, junior Kate Weaver won three, while four sophomores earned victories and freshman Karole-Ann Bayer picked up a victory as well.

PRESEASON POLL: Vermont was picked to finished third in the 2009-10 America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll. After dethroning two-time champion UMBC, Boston University was voted the favorite to win the 2010 America East Swimming and Diving Championship by a narrow margin of one point in the preseason coaches’ poll. The Terriers received four first-place votes and tallied 34 points while UMBC garnered three first-place votes and came in second in the poll with 33 points. Vermont (24 points) came in third in the poll followed by New Hampshire (23), Stony Brook (15), Binghamton (11) and Maine (7). The 2010 America East Swimming and Diving Championships will be held on February 25-28 at the Boston University Aquatic Center in Boston.

EXTRA LAPS: Vermont has won its last 10 meets against teams from the state of New York … The Cats have won their home opener in four of the last five seasons … UVM is now 15-5 in its last 20 meets at home.

WHO’S NEXT: Following this weekend the Catamounts are off until they travel to face Maine on Saturday, November 14 at 12 p.m.

FOLLOW OR FRIEND THE CATAMOUNTS ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER: The UVM Athletic Department has a Facebook page. Click here to become a friend of the department to keep up with all the happenings in Catamount Country. Fans can also follow the Catamounts via Twitter. The department has a general Twitter account @UVMAthletics and the swimming and diving team also has a Twitter account @UVMSwimming. Follow @UVMAthletics for general news on the department and/or follow @UVMSwimming for more in-depth coverage of the team, including in-meet updates throughout the season.

CATAMOUNTS ALL-ACCESS: Visit the Catamounts All-Access page at UVMathletics.com for information on how to get results of your favorite Catamount teams minutes after the conclusion of the meet via a text message on your cell phone via eScores. The feature is available to anyone with a cell phone, regardless of cell phone service provider. Also, stay up-to-date with the Catamounts. Sign up for the Vermont Swimming and Diving eNews, offered free of charge by the Athletic Communications Office. Receive all the latest news and notes, as well as complete game summaries for every contest via your personal e-mail account. Catamounts All-Access also includes links to UVM's other social networking sites like Flickr and YouTube, Vermont's television schedule, live stats, live audio streaming and wallpaper for your computer.

PHOTO STORE: Catamount faithful can purchase athletic pictures at www.UVMathletics.com via the Vermont Photo Store. Pictures make great gifts for holidays, home wall art, or office decorations. Powered by Replay Photos, the website will feature pictures of all 18 sports, including meet action photos from the 2009-10 season once they become available.

GET YOUR GEAR: The UVM athletic department, in conjunction with TeamFanShop, has launched its first-ever merchandise and apparel store through the school's official athletic site at UVMathletics.com. The new online store includes hats, polo shirts, shorts, t-shirts, gifts and much more from several leading manufacturers.