Denver Men Win First Championship, Western Kentucky Women Repeat At Sun Belt

Pioneer Men Win First-Ever SBC Swimming Championship
The University of Denver men’s swim team captured its first-ever Sun Belt Conference swimming championship, while the women finished second behind Western Kentucky, after four days of competition at the Centennial SportsPlex/Tracy Caulkins Pool in Nashville, Tenn.
 
The Pioneer men finished ahead of Missouri State with 1226 points, while the women finished with 766 points behind the Hilltopper’s 851 points.
 
Denver’s Michele Lowry (Hailey, Idaho) opened the final day of competition in record-fashion, breaking a two-year old mark in the women’s 1650 Yard Freestyle.  Lowry finished the lengthy event in 16:27.74 – just two seconds under the previous championship record of 16:29.45.
 
WKU’s Sean Penhale followed suit, shattering the men’s 1650 Yard Freestyle, coming in under 15 minutes to set a new championship record at 14:54.14. Penhale’s time was nearly 30 second faster than his previous championship mark of 15:23.19 established in 2008. Denver’s Clayton Myers (Aurora, Colo.) and Florida Atlantic’s Michael Shimansky rounded out the top three, as Myers registered a time of 15:21.85 and Shimansky came in at 15:30.22.
 
In the women’s 200 Backstroke, Katy Motsinger (Charleston, S.C.) fell just short of second place, coming in at 1:59.79 – only seven-tenths of a second behind Western Kentucky’s Jessica Aspinall, who finished in second place. The Hilltoppers’ Stephanie Terrell took first place with a time of 1:58.89.
 
The men’s 200 Yard Backstroke proved to be even more exciting, as the top four finishers were all within five-tenths of a second of each other and were all better than the previous championship record of 1:47.31.  Denver’s Daniel Vollmer (Ajax, Ontario), however, emerged as the leader in the event and the new league championship record with his time of 1:46.57. Southern Illinois’ Alex Marrucho claimed second place (1:47.03), while New Orleans’ Petar Petrovic was third (1:47.13).
 
In the women’s 100 Yard Freestyle, Denver’s Melissa Greeves (Melbourne, Australia) – the current record holder in the event (49.89) – clocked in at 49.95 to capture top honors. She was followed by WKU’s pair of Jennifer Adams and Claire Alexandre, who posted times of 50.34 and 50.51, respectively.
 
Denver’s multiple record-holder Blake Worsley (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) claimed first place in the men’s 100 Yard Freestyle – re-setting the championship mark (44.25) he established during the preliminaries earlier in the afternoon. Worsley posted a time of 43.73, while SIU’s Dennis Hedo finished in 44.02 and Missouri State’s Roko Simunic registered a time of 44.76.
 
Denver’s Nick Brunger (Castle Rock, Colo.) became the third Pioneer of the evening to set a new championship mark – breaking his own record of 1:59.97 in the men’s 200 Yard Breaststroke, claiming top honors in the finals with a time of 1:57.53. Missouri State standout Cajun Skinner was second in the event with his time of 1:58.67 – also better than Brunger’s previous championship time. New Orleans’ Mark Schindler came in third with a time of 1:59.93.
 
In the women’s 200 Butterfly, Greeves posted a second-place finish with a time of 1:59.05, while teammate Lisa Ginder (Southlake, Texas) finished third with a 2:00.92. Both finished behind Claire Donahue of Western Kentucky as she established a new championship record, re-setting her own mark in the even with a time of 1:56.97 – almost two seconds faster than her previous time.
 
Missouri State’s Victor Serra captured top honors in the men’s 200 Yard Butterfly, breaking his own championship record of 1:47.19 by more than two seconds – registering a time of 1:45.08. Denver’s Garth Summers (Portland, Ore.) was second in the event, clocking a time of 1:45.80, while Florida Atlantic’s Mikolaj Czarnecki finished third with a time of 1:47.52.
 
In the final event of the championship, Denver’s relay team set a new championship record in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:21.67. WKU grabbed second place with a time of 3:23.31, while New Orleans captured third, clocking in at 3:24.72.
 
Denver’s men’s squad also followed with a win in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, while also setting a new Sun Belt championship mark.  The Pioneers finished at 2:58.10 for top honors, while WKU was second with their time of 2:58.82. Missouri State rounded out the top three with a time of 2:59.22.
 
WKU Women’s Swimming And Diving Team Repeats As SBC Champions; Men Finish Third
The WKU women’s swimming and diving team claimed their seventh Sun Belt Conference Championship in school history and second in a row after solid swimming and diving performances the past four days during the 2009 SBC Swimming and Diving Championships.  The women’s swimming title is the fourth team Sun Belt championship WKU has won this year, in addition to men’s and women’s cross country and volleyball, and marks the 14th time in the last 24 Sun Belt sports that WKU has claimed either the regular season or conference tournament championship.  Heading into the final day and only ahead by 70 points, the women’s team outlasted Denver, who finished second, outscoring the Pioneers by a final score of 851-766.  The men’s team also finished with a successful performance in third place with 1064.5 points.  The men’s crown went to Denver who recorded 1226 points.

Junior Sean Penhale continued to dominate the Sun Belt in the 1650 freestyle finishing with a time of 14:54.14 to capture the gold medal and demolish his old Sun Belt Conference record by almost 30 seconds. With the time he was also able to achieve another NCAA “B” Cut in the event.

Krista Mantay posted a sixth place finish in the women’s 1650 freestyle clocking in with a time of 17:01.12.  Freshman Georgia Smith also placed high in the event recording a 11th place finish after touching the wall in 17:27.41.

In the 200 yard backstroke, Stephanie Terrell led the way for the Lady Toppers finishing first with a time of 1:58.89.  Following Terrell was Jessica Aspinall, who clocked a time of 1:59.00 and Casey DeRidder who finished the race in 2:03.28.  In the men’s event, Ethan Arave took home 13th place with a time of 1:47.75 and David Menchinger finished 13th with a time of 1:49.09.

Jennifer Adams and Claire Alexandre also provided excitement for the Lady Toppers placing second and third in the women’s 100 freestyle after finishing with times of 50.34 and 50.51 respectively.  Kyle Johnson was the top finisher on the men’s side, posting a sixth place time of 45.17 in the race.

The Lady Toppers received a big boost in the standings in the 200 yard breastroke as four WKU athletes finished in the top eight.  Leading the way was Kara McCarthy who captured first place after posting a time of 2:18.13.  Right behind McCarthy was teammate Stephanie Martin who finished second with a time of 2:18.16.  WKU’s next top finisher in the race was Brittany Doss, who claimed third place with a time of 2:20.10 and Kathryn Sutton rounded out the top four finishers with a time of 2:20.71.  Courtney Sorrell also competed in the championship heat finishing eighth with a time of 2:21.73.

Claire Donahue also captured another championship for the Lady Toppers finishing first in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:56.97. Katherine Sweeney, Rana Johnson and Chelsea Larsen also placed in the top 16 finishing in 13th, 14th and 15th place.  Endi Babi also recorded a time of 1:49.50 in the men’s race which was good enough for seventh place in the event.

Senior diver Emily Waits also captured a gold medal of her own, capturing the one-meter diving title with 256.40 points.  Waits’ teammate Erica Wilson took home the bronze racking up 225.95 points.

The Lady Topper team of Terrell, Adams, Donahue and Alexandre completed the final relay of the 2009 championships in second place with a time of 3:23.31, which was faster than the previous Sun Belt Championship record.  The men’s team followed the women’s lead also finishing second in the event.  The team of Michael Podbielski, Johnson, Lukasz Herbst and Mitchell Miller recorded a time of 2:58.82.

North Texas Places Third As SBC Championships Come To A Close
The swimming & diving team of North Texas closed its season Saturday with a third place finish (592 points) at the Sun Belt Championships in Nashville, TN. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers defended their title with 851 points beating out Denver who had 766.

Saturday was no different as the Mean Green ended up breaking school records on each of the four days of the Championships.

In the 1650 Freestyle on Saturday, Emily Floyd broke her own school record by about 10 seconds with a 16:42.06 which helped her finish second behind Michele Lowry of Denver who was named the conference's Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer of the Year. Floyd also surpassed the 1000 Freestyle all-time mark with her split in the 1650 (10:06.15). Hilllary Riedmann finished fifth and Angie Dworschack was eighth in the 1650 Free.

Nicole Leslie broke two records in the 100 Freestyle. In the prelims, she swam a 51.53 breaking Alicia Hale's time (51.90). Then in the finals, Leslie placed fifth with a new school record (51.16).

Rosa Gentile and Erika Roach both broke the 200 Butterfly North Texas records. Gentile placed fourth in the finals with a 2:03.81 and Roach won her consolation final swimming a 2:02.28. The previous all-time mark was owned by Roach (2:04.71). Senior Taryne Cantillo finished in seventh place (2:06.53).

In the final event of the day, the 400 Freestyle Relay team ended up in fourth after another school record in the event. The team of Seabre Pope, Nicole Leslie, Erika Roach, and Alicia Hale finished at 3:26.33 about two seconds under the old time.

Delia Covo had the highest spot for NT in diving as she took seventh in the one-meter dive.

The Mean Green swimming & diving team showed a lot of growth this season breaking more school records and competing well with some tough teams. This squad was young, but will have more experience in the next few years. There was only one senior on the '08-09 team as 31 of the 32 swimmers and divers were underclassmen.