On Wednesday, Feb. 17, the New York University women's swimming & diving team will open competition at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

The Violets (8-1) posted a second-place finish in last year's event, finishing behind Emory, the 2009 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming & Diving Championships runner-up.

The UAA features some of the best swimming & diving competition in the nation this season. In the Dec. 27 College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Division III Poll, Emory (1), Carnegie Mellon University (10), University of Chicago (13), Washington University (16), were all ranked in the top 25. The University of Rochester also received votes and was just outside the top 25.

NYU was ranked 19th in the poll.

Violets' head coach Lauren Beam and her Violet squad will look to contend with a balanced effort of swimmers. Sophomore Molly Rippe, who swam the 1,650 freestyle in a UAA and NYU school-record time of 16:54.30 at last year's conference championships, will again be a factor. Senior Patricia Beck, the 2009 UAA Swimmer of the Year, will contend for the 200 butterfly title. Senior co-captain Danielle Hildebrandt will eye the top prize in the 200 butterfly, an event she won a year ago (2:09.14).

On the diving board, sophomore Kelly Dietz should be one of the highest Violet point contributors. The Clifton, VA, native has been named UAA Athlete of the Week seven times this season, setting the school record in the one-meter dive (274.50) along the way.

"Everything we do now will be geared towards UAAs," said Beam two weeks ago. "This is our moment to shine."

Competition will begin at 10:00 am on Wednesday with the women's one-meter dive and will conclude on Saturday.

Results throughout the UAA Championships can be accessed at this link: UAA Results

UAA Championships Website

Live Video Webcast