FAIRFAX, VA -- The University of Delaware men's and women's swim teams will compete in the Colonial Athletic Association Championships on Wednesday evening at George Mason's McKay Natatorium.

Led by head coach John Hayman, the Delaware women will hope to improve upon their back-to-back fifth place finishes, while the men are looking to best their eighth-place showing during each of the last two championship meets. The men's eighth-place finish was their best since joining the league. The women placed a program-best fourth during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 campaigns.

The meet, which will be hosted by George Mason for the ninth straight year, will get underway on Wednesday with preliminaries beginning at 12 p.m. before finals at 6 p.m. The following three days will start with trials at 10 a.m. and conclude with diving at 1 p.m. and finals at 6 p.m.

A complete schedule as well as live stats for the competitions can be found on the conference website at www.caasports.com.

Individual champions will be crowned in the 50-, 100-, 200-, 500-, and 1,650-yard freestyles along with the 100- and 200-yard events in the backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke as well as the 200- and 400-yard individual medley and the 1- and 3-meter dives. Relay titles will also be awarded in the 200- and 400-medley relays and the 200-, 400- and 800-freestyle events.

The Blue Hen men will be attempting to dethrone two-time defending champion UNC Wilmington, while the women will try to unseat William & Mary.

On the women's side, freshman Cortney Barry notched the eighth best time in the CAA during the 1650-yard freestyle after posting a 17:15.37. Kellie Pastore also stands eighth in the 200-breaststroke.

Maryann Walker (above), the reigning conference champion in the 100-backstroke, currently sits with the 14th best time in that event with a 59.81. The junior standout is also seventh in the 200-yard event with a time of 2:07.55.

Fellow junior Shannon Burke has had an excellent season as well, putting up the 10th best score among conference divers in both the 1- and 3-meter boards.

Sarah Begley and Emily Smathers also hope to repeat their top-five finishes during last year's championship meet in the 100-butterfly and 100-backstroke, respectively.

The Delaware men will be led into action by senior freestylist Andrew Zinn. This season, he holds the fastest time in the conference in the 50-freestyle after sailing to a school-record time of 20.44 against Towson. He also currently has the third-best time in the 100-yard event with a 45.97.

Teammate Grady Carter stands second in the 50-yard discipline after posting a time of 20.84. In other events, Matt Wehrman ranks in the top-10 in the 1,650-yard competition, while John Ohlhaver currently has the fifth best time in the 200-backstroke and the sixth best mark in the 100-yard event.

The Blue Hen relay teams have also had strong seasons during the 2007-08 campaign, as Delaware has posted top-five times in the conference in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay events as well as the 200-yard medley relay.

Diver Matt Abbruzzese has had a great season as well, notching the fifth-best score among conference performers in both the 1- and 3-meter dives.

In all, the two teams enter the title meet with 17 top-10 times, including top-five standards in nine disciplines.