Delta State Invite - Day 2

Delta State

After the second day of competition in the 2009 Delta State Christmas Invitational the Statesmen find themselves primed to win the event, only three points down to the University of New Orleans. The Lady Statesmen moved up one spot to fourth after a productive day in the pool.

Wolfgang Mairinger had a great day again by posting another NCAA Division II A cut time in the 400 Yard Individual Medley with a time of 4:03.47, which was good enough for second in that event. Joining Wolfgang in posting an "A cut" time was freshman Adam Dajka who won the 200 Yard Freestyle streaking through the water in 1:39.81. Adam Milecz captured a Division II B cut time by grabbing second in that event, with a time of 1:41.29.

The Statesmen continued to put up National qualifying times when Waldemar Juschin finished fourth in the 100 Yard Breaststroke with a B cut time of 58.84.

The 800 Yard Freestyle Relay team of Adam Dajka, Adam Milecz, Dalton Silva and Cameron Weidele also qualified with a B cut time of 6:47.43 when they finished second in that event.

Down three points to the University of New Orleans, the Statesmen will look to grab the lead tomorrow during the final day of competition in the DSU Christmas Invitational.

As for the Lady Statesmen, day two was a lot better for the hosts. Amanda Guidry qualified for Nationals in the 100 Yard Butterfly with a NCAA Division II A cut time of 56.73 in her third place finish. Mary Katherine Waddell grabbed a Division II B cut time in the 200 Yard Freestyle with her 1:56.13 fifth place finish.

Hannah Willis finished the Lady Statesmen's day of National qualifying with her fourth place swim in the 100 Yard Backstroke. She registered a Division II B cut time of  59.05. Teammate Alyce Meador was one second behind her to finish fifth in the same race.

The Lady Statesmen moved up from fifth the fourth after the second day of competition. Only 57 points behind third place New Orleans, the Lady Statesmen have some work to do during Monday's final events.

Stay tuned to Gostatesmen.com for updates from the meet.

COMPLETE TEAM SCORES BELOW

Women - Team Scores 

                1 Rice University                         608 

                2 The University of Tampa        432.5

                3 University of New Orleans     351 

                4 Delta State University             294 

                5 Univ of the Incarnate Word    282.5

                6 U of Arkansas, Little Rock      136 

Men - Team Scores                              

                1 University of New Orleans     503.5

                2 Delta State University             500.5

                3 The University of Tampa        487 

                4 Univ of the Incarnate Word    445 

New Orleans

The University of New Orleans picked up three event wins, including a second NCAA regional qualifier in diving as the swimming and diving squad completed the second day of competition on Sunday in the Delta State Christmas Invitational.

The three event wins by the trio of Jonathan Field, Phillip Graeter and Mark Schindler helped push the UNO men into first place in the team scoing with 503.5 points, just three points clear of second-place Delta State. In the women's team scoring, the Privateers rank third with 351 points, well behind Rice's 608.

Field won the 1-meter diving event with a 287.60, giving the sophomore his second event in two days after claiming the 3-meter event on Saturday. Field led a 1-2-3 finish in the event as Dominick Butts-Ealy and Johnny DeMaine followed with scores of 284.30 and 246.70, respectively.

Despite the third place finish in the finals, DeMaine's 306.65 in the morning prelim competition was good enough for a school-record and surpassing the qualifying standard for March's NCAA Zone D Regional Championships at Texas A&M. DeMaine joins Field, who will represent UNO in the 3-meter event.

Graeter claimed a victory in the 400 IM with a time of 4:02.07, after qualifying for the finals with a 4:10.61, that ranked fourth after the prelims. Ben Solari also shaved time off his morning performance, finishing fourth in the event at 4:08.59, more than six seconds faster this his prelim time.

Schindler rounded out the winners by taking the 100 breast in a season-best time of 57.76. Solari and Niklas Kunst finished third and fifth, respectively in the event with Kunst posting a season-best 58.97.

The last strong showing for the men came in the 100 back as Birkir Mar Jonsson paced a 2-3 finish with Grater. Jonsson hit the wall at 52.53 with Graeter right behind in a personal-best showing of 53.28.

On the women's side, the team continued to reach the wall with personal and season-best performances.

Laura Cempel started the 400 IM prelims with a personal-best 4:38.07 before going lower in the final with a 4:37.18 on way to a sixth place finish.

Joanna Wozniak, also competing in the event raced to a 4:32.73 in the consolation side of the final, shaving nearly 12 seconds off her prelim time in accomplishing a personal-best and the second-fastest time on the team this year.

Other season-best performances came from a trio of sophomores in Taylor Reynolds, Catalina Mendieta and Ashley Aranda.

Reynolds swam a 1:00.28 in the 100 fly while Aranda posted a 1:00.20 in the 100 back, tying Reynolds for the second-fastest showing on the season. Mendieta rounded out the group with a 58.56 in the 100 fly, the first sub-59 second result this year.

The 800 free relay team of Wozniak, Eva Hannesdottir, Cempel and Wendy Oleskiw wrapped up the day's competition with a 7:46.59, the second-fastest time in the event in school history.

The team will regroup ahead of the final day of competition with prelims set for a 10 a.m. start and finals getting underway at 4 p.m. A live stat link is available on UNOPrivateers.com.

TEAM SCORES (through two days of competition)

MEN
1. University of New Orleans       503.5  
2. Delta State University          500.5
3. The University of Tampa           487  
4. Univ of the Incarnate Word        445

WOMEN
 
1. Rice University                   608  
2. The University of Tampa         432.5
3. University of New Orleans         351  
4. Delta State University            294
5. Univ of the Incarnate Word      282.5  
6. U of Arkansas, Little Rock        136