The America East Championships have come to a close, but the season isn’t over yet.

A select few members of the Binghamton swimming and diving teams attained qualifying times for the 2006 ECAC Open Championships this weekend at the University of Pittsburgh. Unlike other meets, ECACs are more about individual performances than accomplishing specific team goals.

“I think it’s great for the team because we’re on an upward trend,” said sophomore swimmer Michael Britvan. “Our program is improving.”

Fifteen BU athletes will be making the six-hour bus ride to Pittsburgh just for the opportunity to swim again.

“It’s just another opportunity for me to swim, to see faster teams and get faster times,” said freshman swimmer Sean Lorenz. “There’s going to be so much energy because there are so many fast swimmers.”

The men that will be representing Binghamton at ECACs include: freshmen Brian Koralewski, Lorenz and Andrew Palumbo; sophomores Kaan Tayla and Britvan; juniors David Holmes and Brian Koizim; and senior Wade Rimbach. Freshman Ryan Graham and sophomore Matt Russo will represent the team in the diving events.

“Our goal is to swim fast, and show what the Bearcats are all about,” Britvan said. “ECACs is another chance to swim different events. It’s just another opportunity to swim tapered.”

While the men’s second-place finish last weekend seemed to overshadow the women’s performances, they too had many successes of their own. The women will be represented at ECAC’s by freshman Aleksandra Grubic; seniors Nicole Fulgieri, Eden Payabyab, and Christine Carroll; and freshman diver Katherine Hassfurter — three more athletes than last season.

“We’re competing in all of the relays,” Carroll said. “This is the first time we’re going to have a relay there. It’s cool that we had enough girls make it to have a relay. We’ve never had this many girls go.”

And the Bearcats think the energetic atmosphere at ECAC’s will be enough to replace the support that the team usually provides for each other.

“The support will still be there, and even though the whole team is not going to be there, we know that they’re thinking of us and wishing us luck,” Carroll said.