University of Houston
Phill Hansel Cougar Classic Invitational
Swimming and Diving Team Takes Third at Phill Hansel Invitational
11/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Nov. 20, 2010
HOUSTON - The University of Houston swimming and diving team wrapped up an intense three days of the Phill Hansel Cougar Classic Invitational at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Saturday evening.
The Cougars posted more than 20 personal bests and found its way onto several of Houston's all-time best performance lists during the three-day invitational. Houston qualified and competed in seven different championship swimming finals and nailed down another first-place finish on the diving side in the final day of the meet.
"We did so many great things this weekend," head coach Mark Taylor said. "We had so many PRs and season bests broken and we're just now reaching the midway point of the season."
No. 22 LSU took first on the weekend (1,117.50) while No. 18 SMU came in second (875.50) as the nationally-ranked powers were the only teams to finish ahead of Houston (562). The Cougars defeated Rice (468), Tulane (360) and the University of New Mexico (311).
In Saturday afternoon's platform diving finals, the divers gave the Cougars a boost with strong performances from both senior Lacey Truelove and sophomore Julia Lonnegren. Showing why she's a two-time All-American in the platform, Truelove topped Audra Egenwolf from No. 18 SMU to claim first place with an NCAA Championship `A' qualifying mark of 287.50. Lonnegren hung tight with the top two to post a third place finish with a score of 231.05.
"We missed a couple of dives, but overall they were great," head coach Jane Figueiredo said. "Lacey showed why this is what she loves and does the best. I was very happy considering it was our first platform competition of the season."
The swimming portion of the evening kicked off by showcasing the endurance levels of the Cougar freshmen. Laykin Lowry (17:04.40) and Heather Winn (17:10.94) both set personal bests in the mile and placed fifth and eighth, respectively in the championship finals. Winn managed the feat despite losing her swim cap near the end of the race, choosing instead to power through and take eighth.
Sophomore Reka Kovacs set the pace in the 200-yard backstroke when she earned fourth place in the championship finals. Although she was just shy of the personal best she set in prelims Saturday morning, her time of 2:02.22 still checked in as the fifth-best time in program history.
In the consolation finals, sophomore Kimmy Ballo finished seventh with a time of 2:07.32. Freshmen Marissa Blumenthal and Lauren Spano swam the event in 2:12.68 and 22:20.55, respectively.
The 200-yard races were briefly broken up with the fast-paced 100-yard freestyle. Junior Kim Eeson continued her role as the freestyle leader of the weekend, tallying the eighth-fastest time in school history (50.97) to pick up a seventh-place finish in the championship finals. Sophomore Moira Fraser broke the personal best she set in prelims with a 52.76 in the Bonus C finals. Freshman Krystan Morrell turned in a 54.97 performance in the event.
Junior Beccy Hillis led UH back into the 200-yard events, nabbing fifth place in the 200-yard breaststroke championship finals (2:18.85). In the consolation heat, junior Natalie Newcomb brought down a personal best that was more than a year old when she posted a 2:23.81 to claim the consolation's second place. Freshman Leah Sanchez also recorded a career best with a 2:26.37.
The 200-yard butterfly marked the only event on Saturday that featured two Cougars. Senior Andrea Kells and Lowry finished fifth and seventh, respectively. In the consolation finals, Kovacs bettered her prelim time (2:06.12) to take the heat's third-place spot. Lowry, who set her PR in the event in the morning's prelims, posted a 2:06.82. Meanwhile, Newcomb swam her season best time in the event (2:10.62) in the Bonus C finals.
Just as the night had ended on days one and two, the Phill Hansel Cougar Classic concluded with relays. Fraser, Kells, Kovacs and Eeson pulled together to swim the Cougars' best 400-yard freestyle relay of the season (3:31.86).
The Cougar swimmers will now buckle down for six weeks of intensive training before their next official dual meet against North Texas at home on Jan. 15, while the UH diving squad will prepare for their toughest fall meet, the Texas Invitational hosted by the University of Texas on Dec. 2-4.
"I am going to be up for a while tonight evaluating what I can do better to help make them better," Taylor said. "I know my assistant, Jaime Lewis, will be doing the same thing as so much credit goes to her as well for getting the girls ready to compete. We are getting better and we will continue to be better."
Prelim Notes:
-200-yard Backstroke: Sophomore Reka Kovacs shined in the event, posting her personal best time of 2:02.09 to qualify for Saturday night's finals. Her time also clocked in as the fourth-fastest time in program history...Sophomore Kimmy Ballo qualified for the consolation finals by swimming her best time of the year (2:05.91)...Freshman Marissa Blumenthal smashed her previous PR by 10 seconds by posting a 2:08.87 and fellow rookie Lauren Spano also posted a career best (2:20.41).
-100-yard Freestyle: Junior Kim Eeson continued to dominate the freestyle, setting a new personal record (50.83), which ranks as the fifth-fastest time in UH history...The rest of the team followed her lead as all seven of the Cougars who entered the prelim event set a personal best...Sophomore Moira Fraser (52.81) swam the best time of her career and the Cougars' second-best time of the season behind Eeson...Freshman Krystan Morrell (54.01), senior Andrea Kells (54.42), sophomore Kimmy Ballo (54.57), freshman Heather Winn, freshman Colleen Donovan (54.74), freshman Marissa Blumenthal (56.65) all set personal bests.
-200-yard Breaststroke: Junior Beccy Hillis qualified for the 200-yard breaststroke championship finals by swimming a season-best 2:17.57...Junior Natalie Newcomb also posted her best time of the year (2:25.65)...Sophomore Holli Pisarski (2:27.10)and freshman Leah Sanchez (2:28.44) turned in personal records.
-200-yard Butterfly: Senior Andrea Kells and freshman Laykin Lowry qualified for Saturday night's championship finals...Kells notched her season-best time (2:05.36) and the Cougars' second-best time of the year...Lowry clocked in at 2:05.66...Freshman Emma Nelson logged her best time (2:12.88) as did fellow rookie Colleen Donovan (2:15.96).
-1650-yard (mile) Freestyle: Junior Beccy Hillis and freshman Emma Nelson were the Cougars' only milers in the prelims...Both set personal bests, Hillis (17:46.07) and Nelson (18:07.85).
Players Mentioned
