The Utah men’s and women’s swimming team headed east to take on some of the best teams the country has to offer and it appeared that the Utes were more than ready for the challenge.
After the first day of competition, the women are second in the standings with 268 points. In first is the University of Florida with 378 points and in third is Princeton with 225 points. The men’s team is currently third with 159.5 followed by Brown University with 143. Florida leads the men’s teams with 312.5 points and Princeton is in second with 311.
“We’re getting exactly what we wanted out of the meet. It’s been fun and exciting,” said Utah head coach Greg Winslow. “There are definitely some things we can do better at to be ready for the end of the year, so we’re not satisfied. We’re still feeling pretty good right now, though,” he said.
The women broke conference and school records twice Friday evening. Whitney Lopus continues to have a breakout freshman year. She swam the 500 free in 4:42.47, breaking the conference record by 7.13 seconds and the school record by almost 10 seconds. Her time earned her second place in the meet and is the fifth-best in the nation this season.
Maiya Otsuka also broke a school record in the 200 IM with a time of 2:03.54, beating the former record by a half second. Hannah Caron was ahead of her the whole time though, not only breaking the school record, but also the conference record with a time of 2:00.55, placing second in the race. The previous record was 2:01.11.
The women started the meet on a great note, finishing first in the 200 free relay. The team of Natalie Edge, Annie VanLeeuwen, Caron, and Jen Fredsall, finished with a time of 1:32.28, just 0.35 seconds off of the school record.
Edge finished second in the 50 free with a time of 22.92, misses the school record by less than half of a second. VanLeeuwen finished right behind her, taking third with her time of 23.40.
Anna Braszkiewicz finished seventh in the 3-meter board with a score of 279.00, her highest score of this season. In the final race of the day, the Utah women finished with two teams in the top five in the 400 medley relay. The team composed of Beth Gunderson, Lauren Hewson, Lopus and Caron finished third with their time of 3:45.61. In fifth place was the team of Shannon McQueen, Otsuka, Fredsall, and Sarah Cox with a time of 3:49.64.
“Our whole team did wonderful tonight. It wasn’t just our top performers that were competing well. We had women that took lower places that had amazing times,” said Winslow.
For the men, Adam Oliver followed up an impressive performance against UNLV in the 500 and 1000 free with a time of 4:25.21 in the 500 free, finishing in fourth. The time is the second best in Utah school history and the fastest over a decade. Marco Ferraro finished right behind Oliver with a time of 4:27.95, placing fifth.
The meet started with the men finishing fourth in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:23.40. The team of George Evans, Michel DeCarolis, Eric Murray, and Vlaz Lezin had impressive performances. Murray finished seventh in the 200 IM with a time of 1:52.02. The time is one of the top 10 times in the event for the University of Utah. Evans also got a time of 21.01 in the 50 free, putting him in a tie for seventh in the race.
Both Lezin and DeCarolis were both on 400 medley relay teams that finished in the top five. The team of Lezin, John Baque, Oberholzer, and Evans finished second with a time of 3:19.19. In fourth, with a time of 3:22.07, was the team of Major Robinson, DeCarolis, Eric Bonicelli, and Murray.
“The biggest thing is that the men are taking ownership of the team,” Winslow said. “They have caught the vision of what the team could be and they are putting in the extra effort on their own to realize it.”
“Over 90 percent of the team set lifetime-best times here,” said Winslow. “Every single athlete had their season-best times today.”
The Princeton Invitational continues Saturday and will finish on Sunday.
After the first day of competition, the women are second in the standings with 268 points. In first is the University of Florida with 378 points and in third is Princeton with 225 points. The men’s team is currently third with 159.5 followed by Brown University with 143. Florida leads the men’s teams with 312.5 points and Princeton is in second with 311.
“We’re getting exactly what we wanted out of the meet. It’s been fun and exciting,” said Utah head coach Greg Winslow. “There are definitely some things we can do better at to be ready for the end of the year, so we’re not satisfied. We’re still feeling pretty good right now, though,” he said.
The women broke conference and school records twice Friday evening. Whitney Lopus continues to have a breakout freshman year. She swam the 500 free in 4:42.47, breaking the conference record by 7.13 seconds and the school record by almost 10 seconds. Her time earned her second place in the meet and is the fifth-best in the nation this season.
Maiya Otsuka also broke a school record in the 200 IM with a time of 2:03.54, beating the former record by a half second. Hannah Caron was ahead of her the whole time though, not only breaking the school record, but also the conference record with a time of 2:00.55, placing second in the race. The previous record was 2:01.11.
The women started the meet on a great note, finishing first in the 200 free relay. The team of Natalie Edge, Annie VanLeeuwen, Caron, and Jen Fredsall, finished with a time of 1:32.28, just 0.35 seconds off of the school record.
Edge finished second in the 50 free with a time of 22.92, misses the school record by less than half of a second. VanLeeuwen finished right behind her, taking third with her time of 23.40.
Anna Braszkiewicz finished seventh in the 3-meter board with a score of 279.00, her highest score of this season. In the final race of the day, the Utah women finished with two teams in the top five in the 400 medley relay. The team composed of Beth Gunderson, Lauren Hewson, Lopus and Caron finished third with their time of 3:45.61. In fifth place was the team of Shannon McQueen, Otsuka, Fredsall, and Sarah Cox with a time of 3:49.64.
“Our whole team did wonderful tonight. It wasn’t just our top performers that were competing well. We had women that took lower places that had amazing times,” said Winslow.
For the men, Adam Oliver followed up an impressive performance against UNLV in the 500 and 1000 free with a time of 4:25.21 in the 500 free, finishing in fourth. The time is the second best in Utah school history and the fastest over a decade. Marco Ferraro finished right behind Oliver with a time of 4:27.95, placing fifth.
The meet started with the men finishing fourth in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:23.40. The team of George Evans, Michel DeCarolis, Eric Murray, and Vlaz Lezin had impressive performances. Murray finished seventh in the 200 IM with a time of 1:52.02. The time is one of the top 10 times in the event for the University of Utah. Evans also got a time of 21.01 in the 50 free, putting him in a tie for seventh in the race.
Both Lezin and DeCarolis were both on 400 medley relay teams that finished in the top five. The team of Lezin, John Baque, Oberholzer, and Evans finished second with a time of 3:19.19. In fourth, with a time of 3:22.07, was the team of Major Robinson, DeCarolis, Eric Bonicelli, and Murray.
“The biggest thing is that the men are taking ownership of the team,” Winslow said. “They have caught the vision of what the team could be and they are putting in the extra effort on their own to realize it.”
“Over 90 percent of the team set lifetime-best times here,” said Winslow. “Every single athlete had their season-best times today.”
The Princeton Invitational continues Saturday and will finish on Sunday.
