Navy, Colgate Picked to Repeat in Patriot League

The Navy men's and the Colgate women's swimming and diving teams were unanimously selected to repeat as the Patriot League Champions in the 2009-10 League Preseason Poll, announced on Wednesday.

Both teams collected 14 of 16 first-place votes as the coaches and sports information directors are not permitted to vote for their own school.

In the men's poll, Navy collected 98 points. Army tied for second with two first-place votes and 79 points. Bucknell also garnered 79 points to tie for second. Colgate (57 points) was picked to finished fourth, followed by Lehigh (53) at No. 5. Lafayette was sixth with 41 points and American (27) and Holy Cross (14) rounded out the poll.

Colgate also earned 98 points to take the top spot, followed by Navy (86). Bucknell finished third in the voting with 74 points, while Army (59) and Lehigh (42) rounded out the top five. American (39) edged out Lafayette (36) for sixth place, and Holy Cross (14) was selected to finish eighth.

The Navy men's team will be searching for its seventh straight League title -- and seventh overall -- while the Colgate women will look for their third straight.

The Navy men and Colgate women retained their titles as Patriot League Swimming and Diving Champions last season. With 1,031.5 overall points, Navy set a Patriot League record for the most points earned in a Patriot League Championship Meet. The previous record was 1,009 points, set by Army at the 1997 title meet. The Colgate women won the championship with 862 overall points, just three points shy of the League Championship Meet record of 865, set by Navy in 1995. Twenty-eight Patriot League records were set over the course of the three-day meet.
 
The 2009-10 Championships will be held all day on Feb. 18-20 at Navy.

Men's Swimming and Diving Poll
1. Navy................98 (14)
2. Army................79 (2)
   Bucknell............79
4. Colgate.............57
5. Lehigh..............53
6. Lafayette...........41
7. American............27
8. Holy Cross..........14

Women's Swimming and Diving Poll
1. Colgate.............98 (14)
2. Navy................86 (2)
3. Bucknell............74
4. Army................59
5. Lehigh..............42
6. American............39
7. Lafayette...........36
8. Holy Cross..........14