The New York University eighth-ranked women's swimming & diving team left a blazing trail in their wake at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships in Atlanta, GA, on Thursday.

With two new program records in the books and seven top-five finishes across the main pool and diving well, the women currently sit in second place with 596 points behind second-ranked UAA host Emory University (614). Fifth-ranked University of Chicago is in third (590). 

"We are in the fastest conference in the country and to go toe to toe with the best and come away with wins and so many top-two performances is awesome," Head Coach Trevor Miele said.

Swimming:

The 200 freestyle A relay team started the evening off on a strong note with their second-place finish behind Emory. Clocking 1:33.31, they shaved 0.25 seconds off the previous team record from 2014-15. Emory finished in 1:31.91 while Chicago took third in 1:33.95.

Kaley McIntyre registered a new program record of her own in the 50 freestyle. Hitting the wall in 23.26, the fifth-fastest time in NCAA Division III this year, she cut 0.01 seconds off her own mark set at the Bruno Invitational on December 2. 

Caitlin Marshall, who held the fastest conference seed time in the 500 freestyle going into the championships, defended her rank with a victory in 4:54.41. Georgia Basil placed fifth in the 500 with a career-best time of 5:00.40. 

In the 200 individual medley, Candice Saxod finished second in a season-best 2:04.44. 

McIntyre, Marshall, Basil and Saxod all recorded NCAA Division III qualification cuts. 

The A team in the 400 medley relay added another second-place performance to the night, finishing in 3:45.02. In a repeat finish of the 200 relay earlier that evening, the Eagles won in 3:40.26 while the Maroons placed third in 3:46.65.

Diving:

The divers also posted a solid night after all three Violets advanced from the three-meter prelims to the finals. Meera Kasturi finished fourth to lead the Violets with a score of 423.95. Issara Schmidt and Katherine Nardone placed sixth and seventh, respectively, with 417.80 and 399.40.

"The women were amazing," Head Diving Coach Todd Kolean said. "I believe this is NYU diving history with all three making the finals. Katherine had a great last three-meter in her last UAA Championships. The future looks bright with freshman Meera and sophomore Issara going forward. They competed so well as a team and I couldn't be prouder."

Combined with the men's team, NYU is in third place with 1,016 points behind Chicago (1,208) and Emory (1,204).

The swimmers will begin their third day of UAA competition on Friday, February 10, with prelims at 10:00 a.m. The women's diving squad will return to the water on Saturday for the one-meter while the men compete in the three-meter on Friday.