Western Kentucky University came from behind on the final day to claim the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Swimming & Diving Championship on Saturday at the Rockwall Aquatic Center.
The championship marked the ninth in school history for the WKU women, and the first since 2010. The Lady Toppers came into day four trailing North Texas by 15 points. They took their first lead after the fourth of six events by 13 points, and pulled away in the following event, 200 fly.
WKU finished with 853 points, while NT took second with 828. FIU earned third-place with 711.5 points and FAU and UALR rounded it out with 498 and 246.5, respectively.
“It was just a phenomenal effort today from our girls. They did what they needed to do this morning (in the prelims) to put us in a good position to win. We told them that great moments come from great opportunities, and they just came out tonight and put it away,” said WKU head coach Bruce Marchionda. “I’m so proud of this team’s effort and everything we’ve done all year to reach this goal.”
FAU senior Eszter Bucz earned 2013 SBC Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Year after winning two gold medals at this year’s SBC Championships. Bucz touched the wall first in the 200 breast and the 200 IM. The Budapest, Hungary, native captured six SBC gold medals in her career.
FIU junior Sabrina Beaupre was named 2013 SBC Most Outstanding Diver of the Year for the third consecutive year after winning both diving events at the SBC Championships. The Longueuil, Quebec native posted a 328.60 mark in the 3-meter, followed by a 294.60 in the 1-meter.
Marchionda and NT head coach Joe Dykstra earned 2013 SBC Co-Swimming Coaches of the Year after racing neck-and-neck over the four-day SBC Championships. FIU’s Rio Ramirez was named 2013 SBC Diving Coach of the Year after coaching Beaupre to a pair of SBC gold medals.
“I was impressed with the way we fought. We were not easy to beat this week and I take my hat off to WKU and its staff. WKU put up some big performances across the board, and their depth was just a little bit better than ours. Though again, I was proud of how we fought. We broke 14 school records, earned runner-up for the first time in school history and got our first NCAA qualifier,” said Dykstra.
The 100 free was the first of three consecutive gold medalists for FAU as freshman Agi Bucz and sophomore Frida Nilsson earned gold and silver with respective times of 50.62 and 50.67. NT senior Becca Ploetz finished third with a time of 50.84.
Agi’s older sister, Eszter Bucz, followed by winning the 200 breast with a time of 2:11.69. Three others set NCAA B qualifying times in the 200 breast including NT sophomore Krista Rossum (2:12.57), WKU sophomore Claire Conlon (2:13.34) and FIU freshman Jessica Chadwick (2:15.44).
Sophomore Anett Kovacs capped off the trifecta for the Owls as her 1:59.51 NCAA B qualifying time in the 200 fly was good for first-place. NT senior Catia Weickgenant (2:.00.23) and WKU sophomore Hannah Runyon-Hass (2:00.26) followed in second and third-place, respectively.
“We stepped up big-time tonight. It’s really a credit to the ladies on this team after all the adversity we faced this year, and to finish off like this is what a coach’s dream is all about,” said FAU head coach Steve Eckelkamp. “I cannot even describe how proud I am of Eszter for winning that award (Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Year). She was a candidate all four years, but to have her hand broken in December and still win two gold medals says a lot about her. She is a special lady.”
The 1650 free ended in historic fashion as NT sophomore Kimmy Phillips, a native of Argyle, Texas, blew past the previous SBC record with a 16:13.58 time, a NCAA B qualifying mark. Phillips, who finished third in the 1650 last season at the SBC Championships, broke Michele Lowry’s 16:25.85 time set in 2009.
Teammate Jana Burkard, a freshman, earned silver with a 16:32.70 mark and FIU junior Sonia Perez Arau touched the wall third with a 16:35.87 time.
2012 SBC Most Outstanding Swimmer Johanna Gustafsdottir earned gold in the 200 back, finishing with a time of 1:54.50. The Reykjavik, Iceland native was just 0.10 seconds off from breaking the conference record that she set last season at the SBC Championships.
Four others also earned NCAA B qualifying times in the 200 back, including WKU sophomore Allie Duff (1:55.94), WKU senior Hilary Mishler (1:56.77), NT sophomore Mona Groteguth (1:57.17) and WKU senior Alex Van Oost (1:58.60).
FIU ended the SBC Championships on a high-note by winning the 400 free relay and tying the SBC record set in 2009 by Denver with a 3:21.67 time. The Panthers were guided by Gustafsdottir, sophomore Klara Andersson, freshman Dani Albright and senior Marina Ribi. NT finished second in the event at 3:22.48, followed by FAU with a time of 3:24.42.
The Panthers also led the competition with seven swimmers on the SBC Swimming & Diving First-Team.
“We swam really well for four and a half days and almost won half of the events in the meet. I was really happy with the amount of school records we broke. We are a young team and I’m proud of how they stepped up at this competition,” said FIU head coach Randy Horner. “Since we didn’t win the meet, the last relay that we won was a good exclamation point to let everyone know we are here. There are a lot of great things still to come from our program.”
UALR sophomore Valeriya Teplova qualified for the 100 free finals and registered a top-seven finish to lead the team on the final day. The Trojans left their mark by breaking several school records throughout the week.
“I am extremely proud at the amount of school records we broke here. It is something we set out to do every year and it shows the progress we are making,” said UALR head coach Amy Burgess. “I was impressed at how we stepped up this week. We always come in a little intimidated, but every day and every session our team got better. We had the most final swimmers and top-eight finishes we’ve ever had. It was a lot of fun.”
