ATHENS, Ga. - The College of Charleston men's swimming & diving squad will enter the final day of the CCSA Championships with a 46-point lead over rival Davidson after another successful day at the pool at the University of Georgia. The women's squad currently sits in seventh place, trailing Davidson by 45 points.

The Cougars picked up yet another first-place finish from junior Peter Gibbons as he again set a school record, this time in the one-meter dive. Gibbons won with a score of 278.70. Teammate Michael Topitzer came in second place with a dive of 206.20. Gibbons defended his 2011 titles in both diving events, winning back-to-back gold for the Cougars.

College of Charleston scored important points with a number of very close second-place finishes in different events.

Chris Verboncoeur finished just a tenth of a second behind Davidson's Will Fox in the 100-yard butterfly, touching the wall in 49.71. Senior Matt Sherrier took second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:38.97, just tenths of a second away from his own school record in the event.

Senior Brantley Reynolds took second place in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 56.63, while freshman Pablo Ortiz finished second in the 400 IM with a time of 4:04.07. Sophomore Jackson Marine took second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 48.69.

The Cougars took second place in the men's 800 free relay behind a time of 6:46.78 from David Sherrier, Josh Shaffer, Verboncoeur and Matt Sherrier. The Cougars placed third in the 200 medley relay as Marine, Reynolds, Verboncoeur and Greg Karel touched the wall in 1:30.34.

On the women's side, the 200 medley relay squad set a new school record as Sarah Boyle, Elizabeth Mooney, Jayme Groth and Sarah Graif touched the wall in 1:48.14.

Boyle set a new school record in the 100 fly with a fifth-place time of 56.47. Groth finished ninth overall and first in the second heat of the finals with a time of 56.86. Boyle also bested her own school record in the 100 back with a time of 57.11, good enough for fourth place.

The women's 800 free relay squad finished eighth as Meredith Smith, Megan Melville, Mary Frances Babrowicz and Haley Horkey put together a time of 7:46.33.

The final day of the CCSA Championship will begin Saturday, Feb. 18 at 10:00am, starting with the 200-yard backstroke trials. The finals will start at 6:00pm with the 1,650-yard freestyle.