Mark Taylor And Jane Figueiredo Chat Wrap

Oct. 2, 2002

Houston: Who will be some of your key swimmers this year, that you will look towards to lead the lady cougars to a more successful season than last??

Mark Taylor: Falon Hopkins will be an intergral part of our swimming fit along with our incoming freshmen Stacey Williams. Tatjana Banjeglav and Shawn Toliver.
We also have a strong returning core that is recovering from injuries. If they are healthy, we should be much stronger.

Nick (Katy): What do you think of the Cougars' chances in Conference USA this season?

Mark Taylor: Don't tell anybody, but we are going to be a lot stronger than everyone thinks we're going to be.

Jane Figueiredo: If Lindsay is healthy, we should do well this season. Azul, our redshirt freshman from last year, should bring us points on all three levels. She should win the platform.

Brian Los Gatos ,CA: Congratulations on your hiring.When is the swimming facility going too be completed?

Mark Taylor: To answer both of your questions, our new Student Recreation Center will be completed during the spring term 2003. We should move in to the facility in March to prepare our swimmers and divers for the NCAA Championships.
We also have 14 scholarships, which is the maximum fully funding our program. It is important to understand that those 14 scholarships cover the entire team, both swimming and diving and must be divided over all four years of eligibility. The University of Houston Swimming and Diving program makes a strong commitment to the No. 1 diving coach and the best divers in the country by making sure they have the scholarships they need to continue to lead our program.

West Point, NY: I was wondering if you were ever planning on putting USMA on your schedule?

Mark Taylor: We would love to have the USMA women's team on our schedule. They are currently a football-only member school in Conference USA. It would be wonderful if we were able to compete against them at a conference level, both at dual meets and in our conference championships eventually. They have very good swimmers and divers.

Chris (Sugar Land): I am a high school swimmer and was looking for some training tips to help me.

Mark Taylor: The most important thing that a swimming or diving coach can give you is to try and make sure that each practice has a purpose.
You want to try and improve yourself in some way during the practice, be it tighter turns, better streamlines, holding better repeats on training sets.
By having a close relationship with your coach, together, you can identify little things that could be done better during each practice.

Moderator: What are our chances for qualifying athletes to the NCAA Championships this season and in the future.

Jane Figueiredo: This year, we are hoping to have two divers who have a legititmate chance to qualify for NCAA and then both divers certainly have a chance to score top eight. Yulia in the 1- and 3-meter and Azul on the platform could do well this season

Mark Taylor: Our chances of qualifying athletes this year are better than they have been in previous years. Some of our upperclassmen are healthy again and our incoming freshmen are tough as nails. We are also recruiting from the top levels of USA swimming and international swimming to solidify the swinning portion of our team and to try do the same job that our diving program has done for many years.

Moderator: Thanks again to Coaches Taylor and Figueiredo for joining us today. We appreciate their taking the time to answer your questions.
A reminder, the Cougars open the 2002-03 season on Oct. 11 at the Bayou City Relay Invitational, hosted by Rice. On Oct. 12, the Cougars return home to play host to North Texas in a 3:30 p.m. dual meet at the UH Natatorium.
Thank you again for joining us today and asking questions. Stay posted to UHcougars.com for more online chats with UH coaches in the future. Take care and have a great day.

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