University of Houston
<b>OREGON STATE</B>
Swimming and Diving Edged by Nationally-Ranked Opponents
10/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Oct. 28, 2006
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HOUSTON - University of Houston sophomore Anastasia Pozdniakova swept the diving competition to lead the Cougars during a tri-meet against two nationally ranked opponents Saturday morning at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.
SMU, which was ranked No. 8 in the latest CollegeSwimming.com and College Swimming Coaches Association of America Top 25 polls, claimed a 133-106 win over the Cougars. The Cougars also fell 121-116 to No. 25 Oregon State in a meet that was not decided until the final event of the day.
SMU took a 155-77 win over Oregon State to sweep the tri-meet.
With the loss, the Cougars saw their five-meet winning streak come to an end and fell to 5-2 overall. It was the longest winning streak for UH since the 1983-84 team won its final three dual meets and the 1984-85 squad won its first three meets of the season.
The Cougars' five-meet winning streak was the longest in school history to open a season.
The Cougars held a slim lead over Oregon State heading into the final event of the day, the 800-yard freestyle relay. However, the Beavers pulled away halfway through that event to win by less than three seconds over the host Cougars and seal the meet victory.
Pozdniakova, the reigning Conference USA Freshman Diver of the Year, won the 3-meter diving competition with 316.58 points and earned a similar finish on the 1-meter board with 328.73 points. The Elektrostal, Russia, native was the only diver in either event to top 300 points.
Senior captain Rachel Gitelson finished second on the 3-meter board, while junior transfer Ginni van Katwijk claimed second place on the 1-meter board to lead the UH divers.
On the swimming side, senior captain Szintia Szanto captured first place in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:04.26 and earned a second-place showing in the 200-yard butterfly. The Budapest, Hungary, native also finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Sophomore Sasha Schwendenwein won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:51.37 and finished second in the 500-yard freestyle.
Sophomore Andrea Pa'lmai finished third in the 1,000-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke.
The Cougars return to action next weekend as they play host to the Phill Hansel Duals Weekend at the CRWC Natatorium. Conference USA rival Rice, Nevada, New Orleans, Trinity and Mesa State are scheduled to compete at the two-day event, which begins at 4 p.m., Friday and 10 a.m., Saturday.
All Cougar regular-season home meets are free and open to the public, which is invited to attend.
Players Mentioned
