NCAA Men's Division I Championships Team Recaps - Day Two

Arizona: Wildcats In Fifth After Day Two
The Arizona men gave a spirited and passionate effort tonight on night two of the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas. The men currently sit in fifth place with 229 total points.

Jack Brown shaved almost two seconds off his already school record time in the 400 individual medley with a fourth place showing of 3:41.49. Brown started off slowly, but really poured it on over the breast and freestyle strokes. His finish awarded Arizona 15 points.

The duo of Jean Basson and Nicolas Nilo competed in the 200 free championship heat for the Cats and placed fourth and sixth, respectively, with times of 1:32.77 and 1:33.76. Arizona came away with 28 total points from their efforts in the event. Arizona alum Simon Burnett still holds the NCAA record in the 200 free with his time of 1:31.20 set in 2006.

In the 200 medley relay, the team of Jake Tapp, Marcus Titus, Bryan O’Connor and Jordan Smith placed fourth overall with a time of 1:23.93. Tapp gave Arizona a good start but the team couldn’t hold it over the breast and butterfly competitions.

In the diving well, Ben Grado could not earn a bid into the top-16 during prelim competition in the 3-meter event. Grado finished 19th overall with a score of 348.25.

Freshman A.J. Tipton gave his team a boost in the 100 fly consols by turning in a fourth place time of 46.14. In prelims, Tipton qualified 15th. Tipton’s time was a new personal best and fastest for any Wildcat this season.

School record holder Marcus Titus swam a 52.21 in the 100 breast to earn a seventh place showing in the championship heat. Titus has now lowered his school record in three of his last four 100 breast competitions. Five of the eight swimmers in the 100 breast finals swim for Pac-10 schools.

Jake Tapp, swimming in the 100 back consols, placed second with a time of 46.07. Tapp was the early leader after 50 yards, but Florida’s Rexford Tullius out-touched Tapp for the win.

The Cats closed the night with a thrilling 800 free relay team of Basson, Nilo, Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or and Joel Greenshields just being edged out for the NCAA title. Texas took the early lead, but Shapira Bar-Or would keep Arizona in it before Greenshields would pull even with the Longhorn anchor through 100 yards. But Greenshields, known to teammates as 'Wheels', couldn't keep his pace and Texas pulled it out. Arizona had won the 800 free relay for the past three years. Texas posted an NCAA and American record time of 6:10.16 to Arizona's 6:11.82.

Arizona State: Benedetti Places Ninth on 3-Meter at NCAA Championships
The Arizona State men’s swimming and diving team is tied for 29th after day two of the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The Sun Devils have scored nine points. Auburn is currently in first.
 
Senior diver Micky Benedetti led the way for the Sun Devils. Benedetti finished ninth overall on the 3-meter with 426.80 points. His score in the consolation final was higher than four of the scores in the championship final, yet a low score in the preliminaries kept him out of the championship final.
 
“The diving is probably the best quality I have been to at NCAA’s,” said 12th year diving coach Mark Bradshaw.  “He didn’t dive very well yesterday and prelims today was better but he didn’t do enough to get into the [championship] final. In the consolation final, he finally dove like himself. Hopefully he learns from today and can make the [championship] final of the platform tomorrow.”
 
Vinicius Waked made his NCAA debut. The Brazilian senior was just shy of qualifying for the consolation final, finishing 19th. Waked clocked in at 1:34.95, about two-tenths short of his personal best.
 
The NCAA Championships will wrap up tomorrow. Benedetti will take on the platform, an event in which he was runner-up in 2007, while Waked will compete in the 100 free.

Auburn: Tigers Storm Back On Day Two Of NCAA's
Sophomore Kohlton Norys claimed the first 100 backstroke title in school history, setting the pace for a strong Auburn showing on day two of the 2009 NCAA Championships.  Auburn relay set another US Open Record while junior Kelly Marx and sophomore Adam Klein set new school records as the Tigers edged closer to the Texas Longhorn’s top-spot.

“Our guys stood up everywhere we needed them today,” co-head men’s coach Brett Hawke.  “Texas won the first day and we won today.  It will come down to who wants it the most in the final day.

“We had some huge swims tonight.  It was great to see Kohlton Norys win our first individual title.  Our medley relay did a great job.  Tomorrow will be a tough day, but we are looking forward to it.”

The championships are a three-day meet held, March 26-28, at the Texas A&M Student Rec Center Natatorium in College Station, Texas.

Auburn entered Friday night with 141 points, trailing only Texas with 171.  The Tigers cut that lead to just a six-point margin heading into Saturday’s final round of competition.   Texas (348) and Auburn (342) lead the pack followed by Stanford (298.5), California (239) and Arizona (229)

The Auburn 200 Medley Relay team of Jared White (20.97), Michael Silva (23.36), Matt Targett (19.66) and Gideon Louw (18.37) swam to a new US Open and NCAA record time of 1:22.36 to surpass the previous record set by the same lineup in Friday’s prelims.  The victory marked the seventh 200 MR title in Auburn history and the fourth in five years.

The Auburn win paired with a fifth-place Texas finish cut the Longhorn lead down to 199-181.  However, Texas picked up a quick 12 points on the Tigers with a sixth-place finish in the 400 IM.  The Tigers were unable to earn a top-16 spot in prelims.

Junior Tyler McGill led the Tigers with a second-place finish in the 100 fly, setting a new Auburn record of 44.63 in the process.  Senior Logan Madson took third with a new career-best time of 44.99.  Seniors Jakon Andkjaer (46.25) and Matt Targett (46.67) placed 13th and 16th, respectively.

The Tigers took a total of 38 points from the 100 fly, cutting the Texas lead to 225-219.  Stanford trailed close behind with 204.   However with the 200 free finals came a spike in the Texas lead.  Auburn did not find their way into the Friday night finals while the Longhorns, a traditional power in the 200, stacked the A final.  Texas earned 56 points from four entries, extending their lead to 62.  

Sophomore Adam Klein set a new Auburn record in the 100 breast finals, hitting the wall in 51.60 for a second-place finish.  Junior Michael Silva also hit a new career best time of 52.09 to touch in sixth.  The Tigers picked up 30 points for their efforts, cutting the Texas lead down to 35.  Stanford now rested in second after taking fourth in the event.

Sophomore Kohlton Norys captured the first 100 backstroke title in school history hitting the wall in 45.26.  The Visalia, Calif., native edged out Cal’s David Russel by .04 seconds to take the win.  Placing fourth with a time of 45.43 was junior Pascal Wollach followed by sophomore Jared White in sixth, touching in at 45.95.

“I knew it was a close race and when I turned at the 50,” said Norys.  “I saw someone ahead of me.  I just tried to get my hand there first.  It was great having two other teammates with me in the race, because we practice and train together.  It was nice to win my first individual Gold Medal.   It was a proud moment to be up on the awards stand in the top spot.  “

Auburn earned 48 points in the 100 back, retaking second place and trailing Texas, 305-297.  Stanford was in third with 265.  Only 3-meter springboard finals and the 800 FR remained on the day’s itinerary.

Kelly Marx set a new Auburn record off the 3-meter springboard, earning a 454.85 as the Auburn divers looked to chip away at the Texas lead.  Dan Mazzaferro placed 11th overall after a third-place consolation finals finish.  Auburn earned 26 points and now led Texas, 320-308.  Stanford trailed in third with 266.5.

“Kelly played the game extremely well,” said Auburn head diving coach Jeff Shaffer.  “What I mean by that is that through SECs and Zones, he has stayed focused and under control.  He has taken it one dive at a time and no one has been better.  I believe this is the most competitive diving event in NCAA history and he finished second to an Olympian.”

Marx shattered the previous record of 427.80 set by Steve Segerlin on Feb. 3, 2007.  The Longhorns only qualified one diver into the 3-meter consolation finals, allowing the Tigers to take the lead if only for a moment.

“I am speechless,” said Marx.  “I was excited when I finished second in the preliminaries, but to do it here tonight and set a school record is incredible.  It has been hard this year, but I feel like I am peaking at the right time.  I have taken it dive by dive and the consistency has paid off.”

Although the Tigers won the 2009 SEC Championship in the 800 Freestyle Relay, Texas held the upper hand.   The Auburn relay team of Will Dove (1:35.76), Gideon Louw (1:36.47), Pascal Wollach (1:35.56) and Tyler McGill (1:34.07) hit the wall in 6:21.86 for an eighth-place finish.  The Longhorns won the event, setting a new US Open record and taking a slim six-point advantage into day three.

CAL: DAMIR DUGONJIC WINS NCAA TITLE IN 100 BREASTSTROKE
The California men's swimming team captured its second individual national title Saturday at the 2009 NCAA Men’s Swimming Championships in College Station, Texas when sophomore Damir Dugonjic won the NCAA crown in the 100-yard breaststroke in an NCAA-record time of 50.86, out-touching Adam Klein of Auburn (51.80) and John Criste of Stanford (51.89). Dugonjic, from Ravne na Koroskern, Slovenia, joins Nathan Adrian as the Golden Bears’ 2009 NCAA swimming champs. Adrian won the 50 free title in an American-record time of 18.71 on Friday. After 13 events, Cal has moved up one spot and sits in fourth place with 225 points, trailing only Auburn (320), Texas (308) and Stanford (266.5).

The Bears had a pair of national runners-up on Friday as well. In the 100 backstroke, senior David Russell placed second to Auburn’s Kohlton Norys (45.26), but broke his own school record of 45.42 with a time of 45.30. Sophomore Guy Barnea finished eighth in the 100 back with a career-best 46.35. Cal’s 200 medley relay team of Barnea, Dugonjic, sophomore Graeme Moore and Adrian finished second to Auburn (1:22.36) with an NCAA-record time of 1:22.50. It was a new school record, topping the 2008 team of Russell, Dugonjic, Jernej Godec and William Copeland’s time of 1:24.50.

Other results for the Bears Saturday were junior Sean Mahoney placing fifth in the 100 breast with a time of 52.07, freshman Nolan Koon finishing 10th (52.62) and sophomore Martti Aljand placing 11th (52.63). Cal’s 800 free relay team of senior John Foster, junior Peter Davis, junior Matt Scanlan and senior Bennett Clark was 10th with a time of 6:23.29.

In the 400 IM, freshman Martin Liivamagi recorded a time of 3:44.37 to place 10th, while junior Aaron Casey was 14th with a mark of 3:45.39. Finally, Moore placed 14th in the 100 fly (46.30).

On Saturday, the Bears will be competing in the 200 back, 100 free (where Adrian is the nation’s top seed), the 200 breast, the 200 fly and the 400 free relay (where Cal is the nation’s third seeded team).

UC Davis: WELTZ COMPETES IN 400 IM DURING SECOND DAY OF NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Junior Scott Weltz represented UC Davis in the 400-yard individual medley during the second day of the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, finishing 29th overall Thursday afternoon at the Student Rec Center Natatorium. The championships are being hosted by Texas A&M.

Weltz, who earned honorable mention All-America honors last night in the 200 IM, swam in the fourth heat of the 400 IM preliminaries and finished with a time of 3:51.24. The mark is the third-fastest time put up by an Aggie this season.

The championships conclude tomorrow with six events. Weltz will swim the 200 breaststroke - an event he enters with the 11th-fastest qualifying time of 1:54.91. Prelim swims begin at 10 a.m PST with finals set for 5 p.m. PST.

Cleveland State: Dobies Brings Home CSU’s First All-America Swimming Honor
Whether it was the electric atmosphere, the cheers of former President George H.W. and former first lady Barbara Bush or his own goal of becoming an All-American, the third time was a charm for Cleveland State junior Jakub Dobies. 

Dobies made his third appearance at the NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming Championships on March 27, finishing off the 100 breast with a 13th place finish and the first All-America honor for both a Viking and Horizon League swimmer. He swam a 53.13 in the consolation final to finish in the nation’s Top 16, earning All-America status for the first time in his career, and solidifying his spot among the nation’s best breaststrokers.

“Jakub did a great job of focusing on what he wanted to do,” head coach Wally Morton said. “He’s had some shoulder pain in the last few weeks, but he worked through the adversity and never used that as an excuse not to swim fast. It was just another one of the factors he needed to overcome to become an All-American, and he did it.”

“He got off to a great start, was leading after the first 25 yards, and was right in there among the leaders at the halfway point. In the end, he improved his time from this morning by a tenth of a second and we’re very pleased with that. Jakub has already told me he’ll be back in the finals next year. He wants to come back and keep improving like he’s done every year.”  

Dobies’ career best in the 100 breast came during the 2009 Horizon League Championships when he set both a CSU and league record by winning his third straight title in 52.94. That time ranked him 14th nationally entering the NCAA Championship field and his NCAA preliminary swim of 53.23 was the 12th fastest time in the early heats.

“I got what I came here for so I’m pretty excited,” Dobies, who also got a handshake from the former President after the race, said. “You just go out and give it all you have because everyone out there has two arms and two legs just like you. We all have an equal chance. Now I can just put my bar a little higher to reach another point in my career and get better next year.”

A native of Plock, Poland, Dobies is the only swimmer in league history to make the trip to the NCAA Championships since the conference adopted the Horizon League name in 2001. With his third straight league title in the 100 breast last month, he also became just the sixth Viking to win the same event three times in his career. 

“It’s all hard work, focused training and the support of my coaches and teammates,” Dobies said.

Morton agreed, giving credit to both assistant coach Andrew Hancock as well as Dobies’ CSU teammates who “have allowed to him train in a way he can improve every year.”

As a freshman, Dobies became the first Viking swimmer since Harold Wagner in 1986 to qualify for nationals. He followed that up with invitations in both the 100 and 200 breast as a sophomore when he set new CSU records in both events and was named a Mid-Major All-American by collegeswimming.com. During his sophomore campaign, Dobies entered the 100 breast seeded 13th (53.64) and finished 22nd in 54.00. His time of 2:00.43 in the 200 breast was good enough for a 38th seed and his finals time of 2:07.45 in the 200 breast finals placed him 35th overall. Dobies was also seeded 13th as a freshman going into the 2007 national championship meet (53.77), eventually placing 28th overall (54.39) in the event.  

Denver: Blake Worsley Finishes Ninth on Day Two of NCAA Championships
University of Denver men’s swimmer Blake Worsley (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) win the consolation final and finished ninth overall in the 200 freestyle event at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday at the Student Rec Center Natatorium on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
 
Worsley finished ninth in the nation in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:33.68, winning the consolation final. Florida’s Shaune Fraser won the title with a time of 1:31.70. Earlier in the day, Worsley turned in a prelim time of 1:33.65, finishing one second out of the championship final race.
 
"He had an outstanding last lap,” said head coach Brian Schrader. “It was great to see him win that final at this level. We are excited for his 100 tomorrow.”
 
Worsley will complete his DU career tomorrow as he competes in the 100 freestyle event.
 
Fans can follow the action live via Live Stats and Live Video by visiting the swimming and diving page at www.denverpioneers.com. 
 
Worsley qualified for the 500 freestyle event after placing first at SBC’s, posting a time of 4:14.00 for an NCAA DI A Cut. He also qualified for the 100 and 200 freestyle events at the SBC’s after posting NCAA DI B cuts in both events.
 
For the season, the women’s team grabbed eight NCAA B Cut standards, while the men’s team grabbed two NCAA A Cut standard and 11 B Cut standards.

Florida: Shaune Fraser Captures 200 Free National Title, Gators in Sixth After Day Two of NCAAs
Junior Shaune Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) swam a career-best mark and UF record in the 200-yard freestyle (1:31.70) to capture the first individual national championship title of his career. Fraser’s title was the second of the 2009 NCAA campaign for Florida. Following day two of competition in College Station, the Gators are in sixth place in the team standings with 225 points.

“We had a really great day today,” head coach Gregg Troy said. “We had some excellent swims from our first relay to Shaune Fraser, Clark Burckle, Omar Pinzon, Rex Tullius. We really can’t complain, although we should have finished off the 800 free relay a little better. We are in for a dogfight tomorrow. We’re going to have to come back and have another great day of swimming.”

Fraser’s 200 free title was Florida’s third title in the event, the last won by former Gator Adam Sioui at the 2002 NCAA Championships. His Florida record shattered that of Ryan Lochte, who swam a 1:33.07 in 2005. Fraser additionally captured the 200 free title at the 2009 SEC Championship meet in February.

Fraser’s sophomore brother, Brett, additionally represented the Orange and Blue in the 200 free, swimming the consolation heat and improving upon his prelims mark to finish 10th overall, second in the heat, with a time of 1:33.71.

After the quartet of junior Omar Pinzon (Bogota, Colombia), junior Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.), senior Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and sophomore Brett Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands), clocked a 1:24.94 for the UF record in the 200-yard medley relay in prelims, Gator senior Rex Tullius (Port Orange, Fla.), Burckle, Pinzon and Fraser swam to a 1:25.45, eighth-place finish in the evening final to kick off the finals session.

One event later, Ally and Burckle combined for 30 points toward the Gators’ overall score after finishing third and fifth in the 400-yard individual medley. Ally, who won the 200 IM in Thursday’s competition, improved upon his prelims time in the 400 IM, 3:40.58, to place third overall with a time of 3:38.20, barely missing the UF record (3:38.15) held by Ryan Lochte. Burckle swam a 3:41.85, just shy of his career-best achieved in prelims for the fifth-place finish and 14 Gator points.

In the last individual event of the evening session, the 100-yard backstroke, Pinzon swam to seventh place (45.99) in the championship heat, while Tullius swam a career-best 45.82 to finish first in the consolation final, ninth overall.

The Gators closed out the second day of competition with a ninth-place finish in the 800-yard free relay. Sophomore Balazs Gercsak (Budapest, Hungary), both Fraser brothers and freshman Jeff Raymond (Davie, Fla.) swam to a time of 6:22.03 in Friday’s last event.

Florida State: Horner Captures All-American Honors On The Three-Meter
Five members of the No. 21-ranked Florida State men’s swimming earned All-American honors on Friday at the 2009 NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas.  Junior Terry Horner led the way for the Seminoles placing fifth on the three-meter board.  FSU has 22 points which puts them in a tie for 21st-place heading into the final day.
 
“With Terry scoring big points and are relay getting on the board is great for this team,” FSU head coach Neil Harper said.  “You can’t control how other people swim and we just need to go out tomorrow and seize our opportunities and compete the best we can.”
 
A day after missing the finals in his signature event, Horner showcased his ability with an All-American performance on the three-meter.  The Orlando, Fla., native scored 419.90 points on his way to his fourth career top eight finish at the NCAA Championships.  Senior Dan Frebel earned a 27th-place finish with score of 306.90.
 
“Terry did a great job, I was really happy with the way he handled himself,” FSU diving coach Patrick Jeffrey said.  “One of his best qualities is his resilience and he was determined today.  He does a lot of tough dives and he really took a step forward today.”
 
“It was really hard to stay positive after yesterday,” Horner said.  “I talked with Patrick this morning and that helped.  Every time I compete my list on three-meter it gets better and I’m really pleased with how I performed everything today.”
 
In the 800 free relay, the team of fifth-year senior Kyle Young, junior Andy Hodgson and sophomores Stephen Pendleton and Robby Hayes earned honorable mention All-American honors with a 16th-place finish touching the wall in 6:27.25.
 
“I’m just happy that the boys efforts did not go unrewarded,” Harper said.  “We were racing Alabama for that last spot and beat them so that was good.  Getting those points certainly takes the pressure off.”
 
The 200 free relay team of fifth-year senior Jarryd Botha, junior Scott Thacker, senior Jimmy Holway and fifth-year senior Ed Denton placed 18th, narrowly missing a spot in the consolation finals with a time of 1:27.29.  
 
The Seminoles highest individual finisher of the day was Thacker in the 100 breast.  The junior placed 21st with a time of 53.72.  Sophomore Rob Holderness turned in a time of 54.39 which put him in 31st position.
 
Botha also competed in the 100 fly, placing 23rd with a time of 46.86.  In the 200 free Hodgson turned in a 44th-place finish touching the wall in 1:36.97. 
 
The final day of the NCAA Championships will begin Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., with preliminary heats of the 400 free relay, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast and 200 fly.  The distance swimmers will also compete in the 1650 free in the afternoon while the divers compete on the platform.
 
Georgia Tech: GAL NEVO LEADS MEN’S SWIMMING AGAIN ON  DAY TWO OF NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
A second place finish in the 400-IM by Gal Nevo led the Georgia Tech men’s swimming team on the second day of action at the NCAA Championships held at the Student Rec Natatorium on the campus of Texas A&M University.
 
Nevo finished in a school record time of 3:38.00, exactly three seconds faster than his ACC record at last month’s conference championship. Nevo’s time beat Ryan Lochte’s (Florida) NCAA record time of 3:38.15. Tyler Clary of Michigan finished first tonight with a time of 3:35.98. Nevo is now third in the world behind Clary and Michael Phelps.
 
Nevo earns All-American honors in the 400-IM, one night after securing a spot on the All-American squad for the 200-IM. He broke the ACC record in the 200-IM as well.
 
After two days of competition, the Yellow Jackets sit in 15th place overall with 38 points.
 
In the 200-medley relay, the Tech team of Ilia Ayzenshtok, Mickey Malul, Sullivan Lynch and Mauricio Sousa just missed advancing to the night session as they came in 17th-place during prelims with a time of 1:27.20.
 
Noah Copeland registered a 45th-place finish for the Yellow Jackets in the 200-free as he touched the wall in 1:37.06.
 
The 100-breast saw both Maul and Andy Miller turn in solid swims. Malul was 26th in a time of 53.91, while Miller finished 30th in 54.32.
 
Indiana: Ress’ 11th-Place Finish in 100 Back Leads Hoosiers at NCAA Championships
A top-12 finish in the 100 backstroke from freshman Eric Ress led the way for Indiana on day two of the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the Student Rec Center in College Station, Texas. The Hoosiers are currently 28th with 11 points.

Ress placed third in the consolation final and 11th overall with a time of 46.52. He qualified for the evening session after posting a time of 46.46 in the morning prelims. That is a lifetime best for Ress and breaks his own USA Swimming 17-18 age group record. His previous best of 47.38 was set at the Big Ten Championships and broke the record then held by Michael Phelps.

“It was a great job by Eric,” said head coach Ray Looze. “He wasn’t ranked very high going in, so for him to get into the consols was a great swim this morning. Even though he didn’t go faster (in the evening), I saw some things that were better. I am so proud of him, and it certainly gives him a lot of confidence leading into his better event, the 200 back.

The freshman’s finish is an impressive one considering he was ranked 32nd among the competitors heading into the meet. It also makes Ress an All-American for the first time in his young career.

Cody Weik finished seventh in his heat and 20th overall in the 400 individual medley with a time of 3:48.09. That is the third-fastest time in school history and gives Weik two of the three-fastest Indiana times. He also holds the school record of 3:46.95 set at last month’s Big Ten Championships.

In the three-meter diving competition, sophomore Landon Marzullo placed 20th with a score of 343.45, while freshman Linus Altman-Kurosaki was 23rd (327.60).

Competition concludes on Saturday with Ress in the 200 backstroke, Matt Lenton in the 100 freestyle, Weik in the 200 butterfly, and Marzullo and Altman-Kurosaki in platform diving.

“We want to make tomorrow our best day,” Looze said.

LSU: LUBENAU TAKES 11TH IN 100 BUTTERFLY AT NCAA’S
LSU swimmer Christoph Lubenau secured honorable mention All-America honors with an 11th-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly Friday to lead the 17th-ranked Tigers on the second day of the 2009 NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas.

Lubenau swam a school-record mark of 45.97 seconds, two one-hundredths of a second faster than his previous record time, to place ninth in the preliminaries. The senior then recorded a time of 46.05 in the consolation finals to take 11th and tally six points for his squad. The German’s finish marks the second straight season he’s received All-America recognition in the race.

The 200 medley group of Hannes Heyl, Julius Gloeckner, Lubenau and Brandon Selts finished 20th with a time of 1:27.36. In addition, Gloeckner earned a second swim in the 400 individual medley with a prelim time of 3:46.03, but the senior was disqualified in the consolation final.

Heyl placed 33rd in the 100 fly with a time of 47.36, while senior diver Niko Dalman recorded a score of 279.95 in the three-meter springboard.
 
Miami: Ross Finishes Seventh at NCAAs in 3m Event
Miami junior Reuben Ross picked up his second All-America award in as many days with a seventh place showing in the 3-meter springboard diving event Friday evening at this year’s NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships in College Station, Texas.  This year’s event is hosted by Texas A&M University inside the Student Recreation Natatorium.
 
Ross entered the day looking to defend his national title in the 3-meter event from a year ago.  Though failing to achieve that goal, he did collect his second All-America honor of the week, and seeks the possibility of an All-America sweep tomorrow.
 
Ross finished the day with a final round score of 400.60, narrowly edging Sean Moore of Ohio State (400.55).
 
The finals could be described by the first dive which was costly for the Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada) native as he failed to connect on a Forward 3 ½ Somersault Pike.  He would, however, bounce back to land a score of 70.50 on his next dive with a Back 2 ½ Somersault Pike.
 
He landed 80s the rest of the way by the judges, earning his best dive in his last chance with a beautiful Back 2 ½ Somersault 1 ½ Twist Pike, earning him an even score of 84.  Ross also touched 82.25 in consecutive dives as the junior performed two reverse dives, including a Reverse 2 ½ Somersault 1 ½ Twist Pike on his fourth dive.
 
Purdue’s David Boudia, the Big Ten Male Diver of the Year, took the top spot for the 3-meter springboard with a score of 493.10, setting a new meet record in the process.  Behind him were Kelly Marx of Auburn (454.85) and Hugh Showe III of Ohio State (447.25) rounding out the top three finishers.
 
This is now the sixth All-America accolade for Ross in his third year of competing for the Hurricanes and veteran head coach Randy Ableman.
 
Ross will now step onto the 10-meter platform Saturday afternoon for a chance of taking All-America honors in all three events, something he has yet to achieve in his Miami career.  He finished fourth last season on the platform at the NCAA Championships, earning a score of 445.50.
 
UNLV COMPLETES SECOND DAY AT NCAA MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
UNLV competed in two events on the second day of action on Friday morning at the 2009 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. This year’s championship is being held from Thursday through Saturday at the Texas A&M Student Rec Center Natatorium in College Station, Texas.

One Rebel swam an individual event, as sophomore Akos Molnar placed 23rd in the 100 breast with a swim of 53.82. He was .35 out of 16th place, which would have advanced him to the night's consolation heat. UNLV also entered a team in the 200 medley relay, and Charlie Tapp, Molnar, Steven Nelms and Thomas Andolfsson would finish 22nd in a time of 1:29.48.

Oakland: Jensen Just Misses Final Cut in 100 Back
Freshman Anders Jensen finished in 19th place in the 100-yard backstroke prelims with a time of 46.99, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the finals at the NCAA Championship Friday at the Student Rec Center Natatorium. The top 16 swimmers qualify for the championship final.
 
The Copenhagen, Denmark native will compete tomorrow, Saturday, March 28, in the 200 butterfly and 200 back. In the 200 back, Jensen hit an NCAA automatic qualifying mark with a time of 1:41.49 and notched a NCAA “B” cut in the 200 fly (1:44.19). Both of these times, set at the Summit League Championship, were also school, pool and league records.
 
Prelims will begin at 1 p.m. EST and finals are scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. Live results can be followed at the Texas A&M Athletics website.

Penn State: Schirk Swims to 16th in 100 Backstroke at NCAA Championships
On the second day of competition at the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, two-time All-American Patrick Schirk placed 16th in the 100 yard backstroke. Touching the wall in 47.90, he picked up points for the Nittany Lions and also earned Honorable Mention All-America status.
 
For the fifth time in program history and second in two years, all men’s swimmers representing Penn State at the NCAA Championships have earned at least Honorable Mention All-America laurels. Vincent Reydams, Brian Alden, Basil Kaaki and Jason Goldner picked up honorable metion distinction yesterday with a 14th place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay. In 1994, Chris Devine became a two-time All-American with a third place finish in the 1-meter springboard and a fifth place finish in the 3-meter springboard. In 1943, R.E. Cowell placed fifth in the 150 backstroke. In the following year Abel Gilbert finished fourth in both the 220 freestyle and 1500 freestyle while placing sixth in the 440 freestyle.
 
Last year, Reydams and Goldner joined Sean Swanepoel and Sean Biedermann for a 16th place finish in the 400 freestyle relay while Schirk picked up two All-American accolades with an eighth place finish in the 100 backstroke and medalist honors in the 200 backstroke to become Penn State’s first ever swimming individual national champion
 
The Nittany Lions will wrap up the NCAA Championships and 2009 season tomorrow with the preliminaries beginning at 1 p.m. ET and the finals commencing at 8 p.m. ET. All will be competing as Alden and Reydams swim in the 100 freestyle and later join Kaaki and Goldner in the 400 freestyle relay. In addition, Schirk will defend his title in the 200 backstroke.

Pitt: Volovetski Records Two Top-25 Finishes at NCAAs
As the only Big East diver, senior Alex Volovetski recorded two top-25 finishes in the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship, held on the campus of Texas A&M.
 
The meet opened as Volovetski placed 21st on the 1M board with a score of 308.55. The following day, he recorded 338.45 points for a 22nd-place finish in the 3M event.
 
As the back-to-back Big East Most Outstanding Male Diver, Volovetski swept the diving events at the conference meet, two years in a row. At the 2009 championships, he set the meet record for the 3M board with a comeback score of 387.15.
 
Volovetski finished his career as a six-time Big East Champion and a 2008 NCAA All-America honoree.

South Carolina: Walkotten Finishes 15th in 100 Fly; Breaks Two School Records in Prelims
South Carolina senior Nicholas Walkotten earned Honorable Mention All-America honors with his 15th-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly finals Friday evening at the NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships. Walkotten also turned in a pair of school-record times in his two preliminary events Friday afternoon at Texas A&M University, joining fellow senior Kyle Cormier in the championship competition.

"Nick was really good this morning," head coach McGee Moody said. "He had a couple hiccups coming off the wall tonight, but it was good. I'm proud of both Kyle and Nick in the way they're performing. They're representing our program the way we want to be represented. They're showing what the future of the program can be."

Walkotten touched the wall in 46.59 seconds in the final to grab the 15th place finish and two points in the team standings for South Carolina. It was the first All-America performance for Walkotten as a Gamecock and his third overall, adding to a pair of top-16 performances while he was a freshman at Indiana University in 2006.

"It went well, I felt pretty good this morning going into prelims," Walkotten said. "I was just trying to go faster than 47.0 this morning and it worked out pretty well. Hopefully everything falls into place tomorrow, too."

Earlier in the day, Walkotten grabbed the 16th and final spot in the afternoon's preliminaries of the 100 butterfly with a time of 46.36 seconds, breaking Zsolt Gaspar's nine-year-old school record of 46.58. It was the senior's best time of his career by a relatively wide margin, surpassing the 47.01 he swam at the SEC Championships in February. Walkotten finished .01 seconds ahead of the 17th-place finisher, Peter Davis of California, to grab a spot in the consolation final. Walkotten was one of six swimmers from the SEC to advance to the evening session in the event, joining four competitors from Auburn and one from LSU.

The senior from Hudsonville, Mich., also lowered his own school record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 47.56, surpassing his time of 47.84 at the SEC Championships. He finished third in his heat and 32nd overall against a strong field; the cut-off for the consolation final was 46.76.

Cormier also competed on Friday in the 200 freestyle, touching the wall in 1:35.67 to tie for 29th place. Cormier will compete in one more event in the championship with the 100 freestyle coming up Saturday. Walkotten will also go for another All-America certificate in his final collegiate swim, the 200 butterfly.

Standford: Austin Staab Wins NCAA Title In The 100 Fly; Stanford Remains Third At NCAA Championships
Stanford men's swimming recorded more blazing times on Friday, but remain in third after two days of competition at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Austin Staab led the Cardinal on his way to a NCAA title in the 100 butterfly.

The Cardinal have totaled 298.5 points to trail Texas with 348 points and Auburn with 342. Saturday will conclude the NCAA Championships with Stanford attempting to come from behind in the team race in many of their strongest events.

Staab set NCAA and American records in the short course yards 100 fly, while dominating the field with a time of 44.18. The time would also be a world record for short course yards, but because yards are generally only swam in America, the record is not recognized. Staab previously established the American record at the Pac-10 Championships, but it was broken in the prelims by Tyler McGill of Auburn. McGill ended up second in the final as Staab broke his American record and the NCAA record of Albert Subirats set back in 2007.

"It definitely was in the back of my mind because of my 400 medley relay split," said Staab regarding whether he believed he could go that fast. "It was in the back of my head, but it was definitely a surprise. My biggest motivation is that I'm here to race, and Tyler McGill gave me a great race. I wasn't expecting him to go that fast in the morning, and that gave me a shake, but I knew exactly what I needed to do, and I did it."

Also swimming in the championship final of the 100 fly was Jason Dunford who finished eighth with a time of 45.93. In the prelims, Dunford's time of 45.43 was the third-fastest in Stanford history.

Swimming in the consolation final for the Cardinal was Eugene Godsoe who finished 10th. Godsoe became the fifth swimmer in Stanford history to break 46 seconds with a time of 45.99. Overall the Cardinal scored 38 points in the 100 fly to make up ground in the team standings.

While the 100 fly was good to Stanford, it was the 100 breast that was the top point-scoring event of the day for the Cardinal.

John Criste led Stanford with a third-place finish with a time of 51.89. Criste now has the two fastest times in school history after setting the school record in the 100 breast in the prelims with a time of 51.75. Criste scored 16 team points for Stanford.

Immediately following Criste was the defending NCAA champion in the event, Paul Kornfeld. Kornfeld settled for fourth in 2009 with a time of 52.05. The previous school record holder in the 100 breast will also have a chance to defend his NCAA title in the 200 breast on Saturday.

Finally, freshman Curtis Lovelace took the top spot in the consolation final to place ninth overall. Lovelace finished with a time of 52.50 to join Criste and Kornfeld as the three fastest 100 breaststrokers in Stanford history. Overall the Cardinal scored 40 points in the 100 breast, their top event of the 2009 NCAA meet thus far.

Despite having just one swimmer in the back, Eugene Godsoe scored big points for Stanford with his fifth-place finish. Godsoe scored 15 team points for the Cardinal by touching the wall in 45.87.
In the 200 free, Stanford had a pair of swimmers in the consolation final. Bobby Bollier led Stanford with his 13th-place finish and a time of 1:34.50. Finishing 14th was Jake Allen with at time of 1:34.87.

The first individual event of the evening was the 400 IM, where Josh Charnin-Aker led the Cardinal. Charnin-Aker finished 13th with a time of 3:45.26 to earn the first All-America honor of his career.

In relays, Stanford had a pair of third-place finishes. First, the 200 medley relay finished with a time of 1:23.14. The Cardinal team of Godsoe, Criste, Jason Dunford and Alex Coville could not quite match the pace of the eventual winner, Auburn. However, it was a new school record for the Cardinal in the event.

In the 800 free relay the Cardinal could not keep pace with Texas or Arizona and settled for third. The team of Staab, Bollier, Jake Allen and Rob Andrews finished with a time of 6:16.71.

Leading the way for the Stanford divers was Dwight Dumais who finished tied for 15th on 3-meter. Dumais finished with a score of 371.50 in the `B' finals. Brent Eichenseer also competed, finishing 21st in the prelims with a score of 341.60.

The Cardinal will return to the Student Recreation Center Natatorium on Saturday for the conclusion of the NCAA Championships. Stanford will make a last effort to climb up the overall team standings.  

Texas: Longhorns captures 800 freestyle relay, three American records at NCAA Championships
The Texas quartet of juniors Dave Walters and Ricky Berens, sophomore Scott Jostes and senior Michael Klueh ended day two of the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships with a thrilling victory in the 800-yard freestyle relay that set new American, NCAA, NCAA meet and U.S. Open records Friday at Texas A&M’s Student Rec Center Natatorium.  

The relay, one of three American record-setting efforts on the day for Texas, marked UT’s first victorious 800 freestyle relay at the NCAA Championships since 2003 and regained the overall team lead for the Longhorns after the second day of action. 
               
Auburn led Texas by a 320-308 count heading into the relay, but the Longhorns collected 40 points with the win and assumed a narrow lead going into the final day of competition with 348 points.  Auburn sits in second with 342 points, and Stanford holds third with 298.5 points.  California is in fourth with 239 points, and Arizona is in fifth with 229 points. 
               
Walters (Yorktown, Va.) led off the 800-yard freestyle relay in 1:31.72 to break his previous American record of 1:31.83 in the 200 freestyle.  Berens (Charlotte, N.C.) followed in 1:32.15 before Jostes (Chesterfield, Mo.) picked up the third leg in 1:33.20.  Arizona’s Joel Greenshields nearly caught up with Texas’ Klueh (Evansville, Ind.) going into the final 50 yards, but the Longhorns’ senior out-split Greenshields by over a second in the 50 yards and finished with an anchor of 1:33.09 to bring the Horns home in 6:10.16.
               
The relay broke the NCAA, American and U.S. Open records of 6:10.55 set by Texas’ Walters, Klueh, Berens and Matt McGinnis at the 2008 Big 12 Championships, as well as the NCAA meet record of 6:12.85 set by Arizona at the 2008 NCAA Championships.
               
Texas opened the day two finals with by taking fifth and setting a new American record in the 200-yard medley relay.  Jostes led off in 21.44 before senior Agustin Magruder split 23.92 on the breaststroke.  Junior Hill Taylor (Birmingham, Ala.) picked up the butterfly in 20.12 before freshman Jimmy Feigen anchored in 18.49, as Texas produced a mark of 1:23.97. 

The swim broke the previous American record of 1:24.00 set by Texas-Exes Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker and Neil Walker at the 2006 American Short Course Championships in Austin.  It broke the school record of 1:24.23 set by Taylor, Magruder, junior Ricky Berens and Feigen set last month at the Big 12 Championships.
               
Sophomore Bryan Collins (Mt. Airy, Md.) followed by taking seventh overall in the 400 individual medley at 3:43.20.  Collins smashed his school record in the afternoon preliminary round with a time of 3:41.21.  Taylor went on to land his second consecutive All-America finish in the 100 butterfly, where he took fifth in 45.48.  Earlier in the day, Taylor registered the second-fastest 100 butterfly swim in UT history at 45.40. 
               
Texas piled up 56 points by landing four Longhorns in the 200 freestyle finals.  Walters took second at 1:32.59, and Berens took third at 1:32.74.  Klueh placed seventh at 1:34.25, and junior Peter Jameson (Indianapolis, Ind.) took eighth at 1:34.52.
              
Senior Agustin Magruder added five points for Texas by taking fourth in the 100 breaststroke consolation final in 52.97.  In his third swim of the night, Taylor took third in the 100 backstroke in 45.41 to add another 16 points to the Texas tally.  Jostes placed sixth in 46.76 to add three points for the Longhorns’ tally.
               
One night after winning the NCAA one-meter diving title, freshman diver Drew Livingston (The Woodlands, Texas) took sixth in the three-meter consolation final with 372.25 points.  Senior Jonathan Wilcox (Bellevue, Wash.) just missed the three-meter consolation final after placing 17th in the preliminary round with 358.90 points. 

The third and final day of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships begins Saturday at noon Central.

Texas A&M: Record-Setting Swimming & Diving Combo Put Aggies in Top 10 After Day Two
Record-setting swims and dominating diving put Texas A&M in the top 10 in the team standings on Friday as the Aggies enter the final day of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

After two days of competition, the Aggies stand 10th with 87 points and are in the hunt to equal or better their highest NCAA finish in school history. The Aggies are practically a lock to earn their 14th straight top 25 NCAA finish, and are looking to better the 10th place finish at the national meet by the 1999 Aggies. Texas remained on top of the team standings with 348 points, but is closely trailed by Auburn with 342 points.
           
The Aggies set the tone of the day early when sophomore Boris Loncaric
(pronounced LON-char-itch) took down the second-oldest record in the Aggie men’s swimming and diving record book in Friday’s morning session.
           
Loncaric, from Zagreb, Croatia, earned a spot in the championship final with a huge lifetime-best effort of 45.53 in the preliminary heats of the 100-yard butterfly. Loncaric’s swim bettered the school standard of 47.10 that was set two-time NCAA runner-up Chris O’Neil in 1986. Once in the final, Loncaric turned in another strong effort and placed seventh with a time of 45.73 to score 12 points for the Aggies.
           
The Aggies’ diving tandem of freshman Grant Nel and senior Eric Sehn turned in huge points by placing fourth and sixth, respectively, in the three-meter springboard. It was the highest combined finish in a single event by any pair of Aggies in school history. Nel turned in a six-dive score of 430.55, while Sehn scored 410.20 points. The pair contributed 28 points to the Aggie total.
           
"I was proud of the way the boys competed in the morning and in the final," Aggie diving coach Kevin Wright said. "Putting two guys in the top eight in the morning against this field is extremely difficult. That's significant because that means we're doing well, and we're not done yet."
           
The Aggies tallied another school record in the morning session with the 200-yard medley relay earning a spot in the consolation final with a time of 1:25.51. The foursome of junior Jason Bergstrom, junior Nathan Lavery, Loncaric, and junior Casey Strange broke their own school record of 1:25.61 that they had set earlier this month at the Austin Grand Prix. The Aggies nearly pulled off the win in the consolation final, but couldn’t run down the Minnesota relay (125.68) and placed second in the race and 10th overall with a time of 1:25.84.

Wisconsin: RICE TAKES 22ND IN 100 FLY AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
With each passing day at the 2009 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, Scott Rice moves more into his comfort zone.

A day after setting a school record in the 200-yard individual medley, the Wisconsin senior dove into competition in the stroke he specializes in and scored a 22nd-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly.

Rice clocked a time of 46.83 seconds in the preliminaries Friday morning, missing out on a spot in the consolation finals by just .16 seconds.

Austin Staab of Stanford won the national title in the 100 fly, clocking an NCAA- and American-record time of 44.18.

The performance was a strong one for Rice, who entered the meet seeded 27th in the event. A day earlier, he set a UW school record and scored a 32nd-place finish in the 200 IM.

Rice likely will save his best for last, with his final race as a Badger the 200 butterfly that will be contested Saturday. He holds the Badgers’ school record in the 200 fly and enters the morning prelims as the No. 8 seed in event.

After his school-record performance of 1:42.53 at the Texas Invitational, Rice was ranked second nationally in the event for much of the next two months. He claimed the Big Ten Conference title in the 200 fly in February, becoming the Badgers’ first individual conference champion in 10 years.