As the season winds to a close, the Fordham women’s swim team is poised to make another strong run at the Atlantic 10 (A-10) championship.

Last year, the Rams had an impressive season, taking second in the A-10 championship and finishing in one of the top two spots for the third straight year. The team lost to Richmond University, by a narrow margin of 755 points to 578 points in last year’s championship. Despite the loss, Fordham put up great numbers in the championship setting nine school records, while eight members earned either First or Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors.

This season success will be measured by nothing less than a title. Rams Head Coach Steve Potsklan said, “The team’s focus is towards the top of the conference and winning the title this year.” The Rams are well on their way to achieving this goal, as they are in prime position with a record of 6-1.

Many of the members from last year’s squad are returning, including Courtney Collyer, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’12, and Brienne Ryan, FCRH ’13, both of whom had very impressive runs in last year’s championship. Also, the team has already had three members, Andrea Krok, FCRH ’12, Collyer and Ryan named A-10 players of the week during the season.

The only blemish on this season’s team has been their loss to Williams College, a meet that they lost by a mere four points. Potsklan has been happy with Rams’ performance this season and said, “The team is performing ahead of where they were last year. People are getting faster individually and the team, as a whole, is out-performing even the previous year’s group.”

Richmond was the preseason number one pick, so the Rams are looking for vengeance in an exciting rematch.

There have been many highlights this season that will be remembered before the championship even begins. The girls had a stellar performance against Boston University on Nov. 12, a meet in which Ryan and Collyer paved the way by dominating their events, en route to a sound defeat of the Terriers, 158-125. Potsklan also highlighted the team’s performance at the three-day Bucknell Invitational in November, in which they ranked second against five other teams during the first two days and an even better second against six other teams on the final day of competition.

During a long season, it is often hard to mentally prepare for the championship that fast approaches, and it can be equally difficult to keep team morale, yet Fordham has found the solution to this. The Rams recently returned from their yearly training trip, a trip that helps the girls get physically and mentally prepared for the end of the season. This trip that the girls work individually to fund helps keep morale high and allows the girls to feed off each other’s energy as the season ends. This year’s trip to St. Croix helped to foster a positive atmosphere that the girls hope to carry with them into the A-10 championship.

When asked about what he looks for in his team as they head down the home stretch,  Potsklan noted that the Rams need “to make the most of what we have” and that the girls must “swim to improve and swim to get faster.” If the team can keep their spirits high and maintain their fast swimming, the Rams have a good chance to race to the top of the A-10.