University of Houston
New Mexico State
Swimming & Diving Opens Season with Big Wins
10/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Oct. 13, 2006
New Mexico State-Northern Colorado Complete Results (Oct. 13) in PDF Format
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LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Sophomore swimmers Sasha Schwendenwein and Andrea Pa'lmai each earned a pair of first-place finishes to help lead the University of Houston swimming and diving team to season-opening wins Friday evening at the New Mexico State Swimming and Diving Complex.
The Cougars (2-0) captured a 138-103 win over host New Mexico State and added a 146-96 win against Northern Colorado to win their first two dual meets of the season for the first time since 1984-85.
UH won six individual swimming events, the first relay of the day and swept the Top-Four places in both diving events to earn the wins.
Schwendenwein, a native of Randburg, South Africa, won the 200-yard freestyle with a clocking of 1:55.47 and claimed top honors in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:08.95.
In the 400-yard individual medley, Pa'lmai captured first place with a time of 4:36.27 and followed that with a first-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:08.05.
Senior captain Szintia Szanto won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:22.96 to finish nearly seven seconds ahead of her closest competitor and earned a second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:05.04.
Junior Nicole Vaiana won the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:45.67.
The Cougar diving team, which always ranks among the nation's best, was especially dominant in the wins. Anna Kiess won first place in the 3-meter diving with 290.00 points, while sophomore Anastasia Pozdniakova, the defending C-USA Freshman Diver of the Year, finished with 303.80 points on the 1-meter springboard.
Freshman Jessica Shamburger finished second in the 50-yard freestyle after posting a time of 25.20 and earned a similar finish in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.51.
The Cougars' 400-yard medley relay team of Pa'lmai, Szanto, Schwendenwein and Shamburger, started the day on a positive note, winning with a time of 3:57.75.
The three teams meet again in a 16-event tri-meet, at 11 a.m., Saturday, at the NMSU Swimming and Diving Complex.
Players Mentioned
