2008 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming Short Course National Championships Day Three Coverage

The 2008 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming Short Course National Championships came to a close on Saturday night with the Auburn men and women claiming two national championships, three automatic NCAA times, and 19 provisional cut times.

The men, led by senior Matt Targett, finished the night with one national champion relay team, two automatic NCAA cut times, and four provisional times.

With another national champion race, the men claimed first-place in the final race of the night, the 400 freestyle relay. Gideon Louw, Tyler McGill, Steve Scheren and Targett took the race in 2:41.19, which set the new championship record and gave the relay team an automatic cut time for the NCAA championship.

Targett found his first individual NCAA automatic cut time of the season, and second A cut of the night, in the 100 freestyle. He went from wall-to-wall in 41.93 seconds and placed third in the event. Following Targett was Louw in 42.79 seconds, giving him a provisional cut for NCAAs. Also in the race was Olympian and former Tiger George Bovell, who finished with a time of 42.98.

In the men's 1650 free, Auburn took seventh and eighth, respectively, with Robert Looney in 15:12.82 and Will Dove in 15:14.32. Both Looney and Dove's time met the NCAA provisional B cut time.

Taking sixth in the 200 backstroke, Kohlton Norys went the distance in 1:43.77, which gives him another B cut time for the weekend. Also in the race was Max Murphy, who finished in 1:45.40.

Olympian Eric Shanteau took a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke, coming to the wall in 1:52.27. Swimming for the Tigers in the race was Adam Klein, who finished in 1:59.08

Robert Looney placed third in the B-final of the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:46.67, Behind Looney was McGill and Andrew Mitchell, who finished in 1:47.60 and 1:48.22, respectively.

In the women's events, the Tigers claimed one meet championship relay, one NCAA automatic cut time, and 15 provisional times.

The women finished the night with a first-place, national championship time of 3:15.29. The relay team consisted of Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, Melissa Marik, Emile Ewing and Ava Ohlgren. The time created a new meet record and also gave the team a B cut time for NCAAs. Getting another provisional cut time in the race was the relay team of Alana Dillette, Margo McCawley, Jenny Von Juoanne and Caitlin Geary, who finished in fifth with a time of 3:21.52.

In the 1650 free, Maggie Bird took a third-place finish with 16:13.63 after the distance swim. Bird was followed closely to the wall by Geary in fourth with a time of 16:14.29. Also placing in the top eight was Chelsea Haser, who took seventh in 16:18.06. All three of the Auburn women recorded NCAA provisional times in the race.

The women collected four B cuts as they took control in the 200 backstroke. Leading in the race was Julianne McClane who finished second in the A-final, coming into the wall in 1:53.52. Behind McClane was Marik in 1:56.59. In the B-final, Erica Meissner took first at 1:55.95 and Ewing won the C-final in 1:57.09. All four of the women took provisional cuts in the race.

Moving into the 100 free, Vanderpool-Wallace took first in the B-final, clocking in at 47.90 seconds. Third in the heat was Marik in 49.45 and Ohlgren came in fifth with 49.57. Vanderpool-Wallace, Marik and Ohlgren all posted B cut times in the race.

Picking up two more provisional cuts for the night were Micah Lawrence and Josefin Wede, who posted times of 2:13.48 and 2:15.19, respectively.

Ohlgren found her second provisional cut time of the night after the 200 butterfly. She finished second in the race and logged a time of 1:56.01.

During the weekend meet, the Tigers finished with four national champions, five NCAA automatic bids, and 51 provisional cut times.

The Tigers are finished with competition for the 2008 calendar year, but will return to action on Jan. 8, 2009 at Texas. The Auburn divers, however, will compete December 18-20 in the Auburn Diving Invitational.

Florida: Guenthner Garners National Title on Final Day of U.S. Nationals

Senior Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington, Fla.) and freshman Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) headlined the final day of the 2008 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming Short Course National Championships at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center Saturday for the Orange and Blue. Guenthner captured the national title in the 1650-yard free, while Crippen returned to finals of both the 200 back and 200 fly.

 

As a whole, the Gators walked away from the 2008 U.S. Short Course Nationals with over 70 season-best times, 12 career-best times, over 25 NCAA provisional marks, and one automatic qualifying mark from junior Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England) in the 100 back (51.62) as the leadoff leg of the winning 400-yard medley relay.

 

Guenthner rallied for the national title in her best 1650-yard free of the season with a first-place finals swim of 16:07.80, while junior Kristen Beales (Arlington, Va.) swam to a 10th place time of 16:26.79 for a new season and career best in the event, claiming an NCAA provisional mark and surpassing her fastest time from the 2008 SEC Championship meet last spring.

 

Crippen secured a NCAA provisional mark in preliminaries of the 200 back Saturday (1:57.20) to place fourth to advance to the final showdown. Crippen sped to a 1:55.55 mark in finals, improving to third place. Junior Stephanie Proud (Durham, England) joined Crippen in the “A” final after also clocking a provisional mark (1:57.75) mark in prelims, and shaved two seconds off the prelim time to finish fourth overall (1:55.90).

 

Another freshman in Anna-Liisa Pold (San Diego, Calif.) was the third and final Gator to advance to finals on the last day of the three-day championship meet. Pold joined Crippen in the 200 fly after hitting the wall in 2:02.28 in prelims to advance to the “C” final. Crippen rallied for seventh place (1:48.43), clinching yet another NCAA provisional mark. Pold improved upon her preliminary time to finish second in her final (2:01.20).

 

One other UF freshman, Kirsten Smith (Cary, N.C.) recorded a season-best swim in the 200-yard breast after finishing 38th overall in the prelims session with a time of 2:21.01.

 

In the men’s 1650-yard free, sophomore Logan Storie (Corvallis, Ore.) (15:23.13) took almost 11 seconds off his season best time to reset the mark with 12th place, while junior Ryan Crete (Sarasota, Fla.) improved  his previous season best by eight seconds (21st, 15:33.09). Senior Cody Kauffman (Harrisburg, Pa.) additionally shaved nearly 10 seconds off his season best time to record a 16:33.90 (25th) in prelims.

 

In other men’s action, two Gators in Brett Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) and Mike Joyce (Voorhees, N.J.) clocked career-best times in the 100 free and 200-yard fly, respectively. Fraser cruised to a 46.11, placing 60th overall in the 100-yard free field, while Joyce finished 42nd (1:51.49) in the 200 fly with the season and career-best mark.

 

Junior Roland Rudolf (Budapest, Hungary) was UF’s top finals qualifier in the 200-yard back, swimming a 1:46.34 to advance to finals, while senior Rex Tullius (Port Orange, Fla.) tapped in at a 1:47.16 preliminary mark. Rudolf improved his time to 1:45.48, finishing fifth in the “B” final, while Tullius clocked a 1:45.73 to finish first in the “C” final. Both swimmers swam season-best times.

 

Veteran Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) represented the Orange and Blue in the 200-yard breast, finishing prelims in 12th (2:00.67) to advance to the “B” final, where he took second with a time of 1:59.31.

 

In 400-meter free relay action, the “A” Gator relay swam to a provisional time of 3:17.84, the ninth fastest time in Florida history in the event. The relay, composed of junior Stephanie Napier (Chattanooga, Tenn.), freshman Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.), Spofforth and freshman Lily Ramirez (Gainesville, Fla.) captured a second-place finish. Napier’s leadoff split of 49.96 was a season-best time.

 

The men’s 400 free relay, led off by junior Shaune Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) with a split of 43.40, finished fifth overall with a time of 2:55.10, an NCAA provisional mark. Fraser’s split served as both a season and career-best mark.

 

Once again, Florida alum Ryan Lochte exploded as the top finisher in the 200-yard back (1:38.49), claiming the national title, while picking up fourth (41.99) in the 100-yard free. Ricardo Monasterio swam to a 13th place (15:23.90) in the 1650-yard free.

 

While competition in Atlanta at the U.S. National meet concluded Saturday, the 40-member Gator squad in action at the Princeton Big Al Open continues the three-day invite Sunday for the final day of competition in Princeton, N.J.

 

 

FSU’s Hodgson Breaks ACC Record In 200 Back On Final Day Of USA Short Course Nationals  

If the Florida State swim team was looking to make a statement at the 2008 ConocoPhillips USA Short Course Nationals they can consider that mission accomplished.  Junior Andy Hodgson capped a historic performance by the Seminoles by breaking the ACC record in the 200 back on the final day of the meet.

 

Hodgson touched the wall in 1:41.99 breaking Virginia's Luke Wagner's seven year-old mark of 1:42.67.  Hodgson's swim earned him third place, two spots behind Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Lochte. 

 

In total the Seminole men broke six school records at the three day meet, a remarkable performance at the half way point in the season.

 

Senior Kyle Young and junior Nick Graves both earned NCAA provisional times in the 1650 free.  Young finished fourth in the event with a time of 15:09.17 while Graves placed sixth touching the wall in 15:12.21

 

In the 100 free senior Jarryd Botha earned another NCAA provisional cut, this time in the 100 free with the second fastest swim in Florida State history (43.57).  Sophomore Robby Hayes (44.56) and senior Ed Denton (44.59) also swam season bests in the event.

 

Sophomore Rob Holderness earned a Florida State school record of his own with his prelim swim in the 200 breast.  Holderness swam a 1:57.83 to break the record by more than half a second.  He finished fifth in the event with an evening swim of 1:58.31.  Junior Scott Thacker placed 20th (2:00.45) and sophomore Matt Shead finished 22nd (2:04.11).

 

The Garnet and Gold finished off the meet with their sixth and final school record in the 400 free relay.  The team of Hodgson, Botha, Denton and Hayes broke the nine year-old record with a fifth place finish time of 2:54.53.  The time is a NCAA provisional qualifying time.

 

The FSU women were led by Stephanie Sarandos who finished seventh in the 200 back with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:57.23.  Sarandos swam a collegiate best 1:56.81 in the prelims.

Junior Stevi Steinhauer led the Seminoles in the 100 free finishing 46th (51.11).  Junior Shanda Casella (51.38) sophomore Jocelyn Phillips (51.57), junior Kylsie Grimes (52.02) and sophomore Brittany Selts (52.34) also competed in the 100 free for Florida State.  Freshman Jessica Sabotin placed 55th in the 200 fly (2:06.72).  The women finished the meet with a time of 3:24.20 in the 400 free relay. 

 

Former Seminole and current graduate assistant Ian Powell finished second in the 200 fly with a personal best time of 1:44.29.

 

Alabama Junior Mark Randall Finishes Second in the Mile at the USA Swimming Championships

Alabama junior All-American Mark Randall capped an outstanding weekend at the USA Short Course National Swimming Championships Saturday with a silver medal finish in the mile. The Crimson Tide contingent also continued its roll of career-best swims on the championships final day.

 

Randall, one of the nation’s top distance swimmers, finished with a time of 15:00.83, more than six seconds  ahead of the rest of the field.

 

“We had a great weekend, turning some great swims, including several life-time best times,” head coach Eric McIlquham said. “At this point in the season, it’s a very good indicator of where we are and what we can accomplish if we keep working hard and stay focused on the championship season.”

 

Sophomore Denes Zubcsek followed up a career-best 100 butterfly time on Friday, with a personal best in the 200 butterfly. Zubcsek finished fourth with a time of 1:44.91. His time puts him third all-time at Alabama and makes him one of just three Tide swimmers to go under the 1:45 mark. The other two are two-time NCAA Champion and current assistant coach Stefan Gherghel and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Jon Sieben.

 

Junior Riley Boulden finished 14th in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:00.98, just off his personal best. Senior Alin Mihalca, freshman Joe Ziegler, Boulden and Zubcsek combined to touch the wall at 3:04.02 in the 400 freestyle relay, taking 13th place.

 

On the women’s side of the meet, freshman Suzanne Schwee finished 14th in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:01.02, after posting a 2:00.30 during preliminaries. Junior Elle St. Charles touched the wall at 2:01.49 in the 200 butterfly, dropping more than a second off her personal best time and moving from 10th to sixth all-time at Alabama.

 

Sophomore Ida Persson dropped nearly three-tenths of a second off her best time in the 100 freestyle, clocking in at 50.32 to move from ninth to third on the Tide’s all-time top-10 list.

 

Juniors Allyson Angle and Julie Richards both posted career-best times in the 200 backstroke, touching the wall at 2:02.03 and 2:02.47 respectively. Angle now ranks sixth and Richards seventh all-time for the Tide.

 

Persson teamed with juniors Brooke Baldi, Nichole Roberts and Maggie Zblewski combined to touch the wall 13th in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:25.03.

 

Alabama returns to campus with finals on the horizon next week followed by its winter training camp.

 

GEORGIA TECH SWIMMING COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND AT U.S. SHORT COURSE NATIONALS

Ryann Kopacka set a school record in the 200-back as the Georgia Tech swimming teams completed the final day at the 2008 ConocoPhillips Short Course National Championships Saturday night at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center.

 

With a record in the women’s 400-free relay as well, the Yellow Jackets set 10 school records on the weekend competing against the best swimmers in the nation, including several Olympians. Tech will now be off for final exams and winter break and get back to meet action next month.

 

Overall, Tech placed third in the college and university division for the whole meet and was the highest ACC school. It was behind only Florida and Auburn. The men were fourth and the women finished fifth.

 

“Overall, this was a great weekend for us,” said head coach Stu Wilson. “We had 10 school records which is great at this point in our training and I am pleased where we are as a team. Now, we need to continue training hard and get ready for the rest of our dual meet season and the ACC Championships.”

 

The day began well as Ryann Kopacka was able to set a school record in the 200-back during a time trial. She finished in 1:59.60, breaking a record that has stood since 2003. Heidi Hatteberg also swam the 200-back for the Jackets, finishing in 2:04.10.

 

In the men’s 200-back, Johnny Hagaman led the way finishing 41st (1:50.78). Matt Tang (1:53.09) and Max Randolph (1:54.43) also placed in the top 56 for Tech.

 

The women’s 100-free saw Agatha Kwasnik pace the Jackets with a 51.05 finish, good for 42nd place. Keren Siebner (51.82) and Hatteberg (52.69) also had solid swims for Georgia Tech.

 

In the 100-free, Noah Copeland came within .06 seconds of breaking his own school record. After swimming a 43.91 in prelims, he touched the wall in 43.89 to finish 14th in finals. Garrett Robberson just missed qualifying for finals as his time of 44.60 was 27th-best and only the top 24 move on. Mauricio Sousa (45.05) and Travis Wagner (45.50) also recorded top 50 swims for the Jackets.

 

The women’s 200-breast saw Brittany Gobat record a 36th-place finish as she clocked in at 2:20.74. On the men’s side, Andy Miller was 28th and just missed a spot in the evening finals session with a 2:04.78. Jeremy Jackson (2:09.42) and Kevin Skenes (2:13.09) also swam well for Tech.

 

Taylor Flynn secured a 21st-place finish in the 200-fly as she touched the wall in 2:01.91. Meanwhile, Jordan Evans came in 36th-place as she finished in 2:03.17. Christine Chuang (2:04.06) and Jing Li (2:05.44) had solid swims as well, finishing 45th and 51st, respectively.

 

The men’s 200-free saw Ralph Long (1:52.39) and Sullivan Lynch (1:54.43) place 48th and 56th.

 

The final individual event of the weekend was the mile and Tech’s Jing Li finished it in 17:30.52.

 

The weekend closed out with the 400-free relay and like just about every other relay, Tech teams enjoyed success. The men’s team just missed a record by .05 seconds as the team of Garrett Robberson, Mauricio Sousa, Travis Wagner and Noah Copeland finished ninth with a time of 2:59.57.

 

The women’s team of Keren Siebner, Sarah Broadley, Taylor Flynn and Agatha Kwasnik captured the Jackets’ 10th school record for the meet in the 400-free relay as they placed 10th in a time of 3:23.14.

 

The Yellow Jackets will now be off for final exams and winter break. The dual meet schedule resumes on Jan. 17, 2009, at NC State. The next home meet will be Tech’s senior day on Jan. 31 against Emory at Noon.

 

Indiana: Smith, White Post Top-Five Finishes at Short Course Nationals  

Sophomore Amanda Smith and freshman Nikki White finished second and fifth, respectively, in the 1,650-yard freestyle to highlight the final day of the ConocoPhillips Short Course Nationals in Atlanta, Ga.

 

Smith posted a career-best time of 16:11.33 for the runner-up finish, while White came home in 16:16.55. Both Smith and White also swam the 200 butterfly, with Smith sixth (1:58.16) in the championship final and White eighth in the consolation final (2:02.85).

 

Joining White in the championship final of the 200 fly was Brittany Barwegen, who finished eighth (1:58.55). Donna Smailis competed in the prelims on the 100-yard freestyle, where she recorded a time of 50.33.

 

In the men’s competition, freshman Eric Ress placed seventh in the 200-yard backstroke with a season best and NCAA B cut of 1:45.13. Cody Weik advanced to the consolation final of the 200-yard butterfly where he matched his season best with a 1:47.34. Titus Knight wrapped up his competition with a time of 44.80 in the prelims of the 100-yard freestyle.

 

Louisville: Another School Record Falls in Day Three of US Short Course Nationals

In the final day of the 2008 ConocoPhillips Short Course National Championships at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center the University of Louisville set another school record as competition came to a close.  In college division, the women finished third behind Auburn and Florida. The men finished sixth in the college division.

 

“Overall, I am pleased with the good effort we had,” said U of L head coach Arthur Albiero. “We came ready to compete.”

 

In the 200-fly, U of L had two swimmers make the finals when Adam Madarassy finished fifth in the 200-fly with a time of 1:45.49. Teammate Pedro Oliveira was seventh, posting a time of 1:46.00.

 

In the 1650-free, Amanda Henleben finished 17th with a time of 16:43.57.  In the men’s 1650, Shane Lichtenberg was 28th, going 15:41.14.

 

In the 200-breast, Therese Bergstrom (2:15.02) and Vali Preda (1:59.44) were both 11th in that event.

 

In the final event, 400-free relay, the foursome of Anna Dishuck, Liz Halet, Therese Bergstrom and Whitney Campbell combined to finish fourth with a time of 3:21.20.

 

“Whitney’s anchor leg split was 48.67 so she was flat out hauling in that leg,” said Albiero. “In the prelims of the 100-free, she set a school record of 49.31, so she is emerging as the up and coming sprinter on the college scene.”

 

Gamecocks Conclude Successful Weekend at Short Course Nationals

South Carolina's swimming team wrapped up a strong three days of competition Saturday night at Georgia Tech as 10 Gamecock swimmers competed in their respective finals events at the U.S. Short Course National Championships.

 

Nicholas Walkotten lowered his NCAA 'B' cut time in the 200-yard butterfly, turning in a 19th-place performance with a time of 1:45.15 to cap off a meet where he met the 'B' standard in two events (the other was the 100 fly).

 

Also for the men, Kyle Cormier fell .02 seconds short of his personal best and only two-tenths of a second short of another NCAA 'B' cut in the 100 freestyle with his time of 43.95. Cormier had the most successful weekend of the Gamecocks, breaking the school record in the 200 free on Friday night and earning a 'B' cut in the process.

 

Freshman Armin Hornikel turned in a personal-best time in the 200-yard breaststroke with a 19th-place time of 2:02.40, surpassing his previous best by nearly two seconds. Two other freshmen, James Crawford and Chris Kelly, had strong swims in the 200 backstroke finals as Kelly swam a Carolina season-best 1:46.23 and Crawford touched in 1:46.58.

 

For the Gamecock women, Lindsey Olson came within .09 seconds of the NCAA 'B' qualifying standard in the 200 butterfly, touching in a personal-best time of 2:00.03 for a 10th-place finish; the best finish for the Carolina women in the championships.

 

Senior Amanda Dunnigan lowered her season-best time in the 200 breaststroke to 2:16.80, coming within less than a second of an NCAA 'B' cut. She took a 13th-place overall finish in the finals. In addition, Megan Sparks finished 16th in the 200 backstroke with her time of 1:59.42.

 

Also for South Carolina, Christine and Claire Thompson competed in the 1,650 freestyle. Christine took a 25th-place finish with a time of 16:51.52, and Claire finished 35th with a 17:30.28.

 

Meanwhile, in Columbus, Ohio, the Gamecock divers improved from their first day of competition at the Ohio State Invitational as three Carolina divers finished in the top 16 of their respective events. Corry Christian took a 16th-place finish for the Gamecock men in the three-meter competition, and Helen Alvey and Allison Barr took 13th and 14th, respectively, in the women's one-meter event.

 

Sophomore Taryn Zack, the three-time SEC Diver of the Week, sustained an injury during Friday's three-meter preliminaries and withdrew from the competition.

 

The swimming and diving teams will now turn their attention to final exams over the next week and the coming holiday break and training before taking to the competition pool again in January. The next meet for the Gamecocks is Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, as they will participate in a tri-meet with Davidson and Duke in Durham, N.C.

 

CCSU's Erin Crowley Competes At US Short Course Nationals

Central Connecticut senior Erin Crowley finished her competition at the USA Swimming Short Course National Championships on Saturday.  The Blue Devil captain swam in the 100 freestyle and finished in a time of 52.98.  Crowley touched in at 24.45 in the 50 free on Thursday.

 

Her time of 52.98 seconds in the 100 free was .18 off of her best time this year.  Crowley finished in 52.80 at the Terrier Invitational earlier this season.  The Plainville, CT native won the 100 free event at the Northeast Conference Championships last season, touching in at 52.10.  Crowley's lifetime best is 51.76, set in 2008.

 

On Thursday Crowley timed in at 24.45 in the 50 freestyle, coming .12 seconds off of her top time of the season.  Her mark of 24.33 stands as the best time in the conference to date.

 

The Central swimming and diving team will continue their season after the holidays when they travel to Worcester, MA to compete against Holy Cross and Vermont.  The meet is scheduled for Sunday January 11 at 1:00 p.m.

 

WKU Swimmers Have Record Setting Day In Atlanta

Claire Donahue, Brittany Doss and Sean Penhale represented the Western Kentucky University swimming and diving teams in the 2008 U.S. Short Course National Championship on Friday and Saturday on the campus of Georgia Tech.

 

Donahue posted a sixth place finish in the 100 butterfly after posting a time of 53.07.  The time, which is a NCAA qualifying time, set the school record in the event.  Doss, who competed in the finals of the 100 breaststroke, recorded a time of 1:03.12 to place 14th.  That time is the best time that Doss has posted in the event this season.  Finally, Penhale touched the wall in 4:20.42 in the 500 freestyle to set not only a WKU record but also record a NCAA qualifying time.

 

On Sunday, members of the WKU team will compete in the Long Course Invitational where several other Topper and Lady Topper swimmers will be looking to set NCAA qualifying cut times.

 

DERLATH SHATTERS SCHOOL RECORD IN ATLANTA

Colgate’s Erica Derlath (Garden City, N.Y.) once again shattered her own school and freshman record in the 1650 free at the 2008 Conoco Phillips U.S. Short Course Swimming Championships, Saturday at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.

 

Derlath placed 24th overall by posting a 16:50.1, which broke her former mark of 17:06.14 set November 8 against Boston University.  Since arriving on campus, the freshman has shaved the school record down from 17:06.05 which was set by current Raider teammate Caren Guyett (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) last season.  Her time in the bonus consolation finals also serves as a new Colgate freshman record as well.