Denver
The University of Denver men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams turned in strong performances on the second day of the Sun Belt Conference Championships in the Tracy Caulkins Pool at the Centennial Sportsplex in Nashville, Tenn. The Pioneer men’s team is second behind Western Kentucky with 286 points, while the Pioneer women’s team is third with 209 points behind North Texas and WKU.
In the final women's event of the evening, the 200 freestyle relay, WKU and Denver tied for first place with a time of 1:32.73, an NCAA B standard qualification. NT finished third in the event earning 32 points but WKU's finish earned the Lady Toppers 37 points as the gap between the Toppers and the Mean Green was now 14 (282-268) heading into day three of competition. Denver sits in third place in the team standings with 209 points.
The men's race was very interesting as a seesaw battle ensued from the very start. WKU's Sean Penhale picked up the event win in the men's 500 freestyle swimming 4:22.14 for an NCAA B standard qualification, but it was Denver who took over the team lead as the Pioneers picked up second and fourth place finishes in the event to give DU a one point lead over WKU (115-114).
WKU's Greg Gerum earned the Toppers its second men's event win in the 200 individual medley, but Denver was present again in the results with second, third and fifth place finishes for a total of 47 points to give the Pioneers a 186-157 team lead.
WKU then stormed back in the 50 freestyle taking four of the top eight spots, and three of the top four as the Toppers regained the lead in the team competition with 220 points to Denver's 216 points.
Denver retook the team lead following Cody Stambaugh's (Denver, Colo.) win in the three-meter diving competition. The only senior in the field improved on his preliminary round score and totaled 367.15 points to give the Pioneers a 252 to 250 lead over WKU.
However, in the final men's event of the evening, the 200 freestyle relay, WKU took the win in 1:21.37, an NCAA B standard qualification. The relay win was the culmination on the night for the Toppers as WKU closed with a team total of 290 points. Denver was second with 286 points, while New Orleans (232 points) and Florida Atlantic (198 points) rounded out the men's competition.
North Texas
North Texas Swimming & Diving retained its lead after day two of the Sun Belt Swimming & Diving Championships at the Centennial SportsPlex on Tuesday night.
The Mean Green lead two-time defending champion Western Kentucky by 14 with a total score of 282.
Touting a 10-point lead entering tonight’s finals, the Mean Green expanded their lead to 62 early with the 500-yard freestyle.
After qualifying five of the eight athletes swimming in the “A” heat, North Texas took the top three spots and four of the top five.
Senior Emily Floyd swam her fastest time in the event for the second time today. This time her mark of 4:52.38 was good enough for and NCAA “B” cut and first place. Freshman Catia Weickgenant claimed second in her first SBC Championship, touching the wall in 4:53.92.
Hiliary Riedmann was the last member of the Mean Green to podium, earning third with a time of 4:54.85. Rounding out the top ten for North Texas was Erika Roach in fifth (4:55.59), Angela Dworschack in eighth (5:01.47) and Dawn Richerson from the “B” Final in 10 with a time of 4:58.87.
Sophomore Rosa Gentile, who was the top qualifier in the 200-yard individual medley, matched her prelim time and school record of 2:04.21, which was good enough for sixth.
Sophomore Seabre Pope made Sun Belt Championship history by becoming the first woman to swim a sub-23 second 50-yard freestyle at the tournament meet. Pope’s NCAA “B” cut time of 22.99 seconds earned her first place, while teammate Nicole Leslie earned eighth with a time of 23.87.
The final race of the night saw the Mean Green 200-freestyle relay team of Pope, Gentile, Leslie and Alicia Hale finished just over half a second behind both Western Kentucky and Denver with a time of 1:33.26 for third place.
