University of Houston
<B>RED & WHITE MEET</B>
Swimming & Diving Opens with Red-White Meet
10/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Oct. 4, 2006
Complete Meet Results in PDF Format
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HOUSTON - The University of Houston Swimming & Diving team took its first step toward the 2006-07 season with the annual Red & White Meet on Wednesday at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium on the UH campus.
And for the fifth consecutive season, the Cougars' preseason scrimmage ended with a tie. In the 2006 version, the Red and White teams battled to a 64-64 tie.
Sophomore and Red Team member Sasha Schwendenwein led the way for both teams, capturing first place in four individual events. Senior Rachel Gitelson (White), sophomore Andrea Pa'lmai (Red) and freshman Jessica Shamburger (White) each won two individual events for their respective teams.
In the relay events, the Red Team got the better of their White counterparts, winning the 300-yard freestyle (2:41.08) and the 500-yard freestyle (4:5218) relays. The White Team finished first in the 250-yard medley relay with a time of 2:22.13.
Schwendenwein won the 25-yard freestyle with a time of 10.45 and finished first in the 125-yard freestyle with a time of 1:11.37. The Randburg, South Africa, native also won the 350-yard freestyle with a clocking of 3:44.72 and the 75-yard butterfly with a time of 41.42.
Pa'lmai finished first in the 800-yard freestyle with a time of 8:43.34 and took top honors in the 300-yard individual medley with a time of 3:23.46.
Shamburger captured first place in the 75-yard freestyle with a time of 39.92 and finished first in the 75-yard backstroke with a time of 43.85.
On the diving side, Gitelson claimed first place in both events, scoring 92.10 points on the 1-meter springboard and 46.00 points in the 3-meter event to finish just ahead of fellow senior and White Team member Anna Kiess.
Senior Szintia Szanto (White) won the 75-yard breaststroke with a time of 50.45, while freshman Doreen Polotzek (White) won the 100-yard individual medley with a time of 1:03.39.
The Cougars were divided into Red and White teams with and Gitelson and Szanto leading each group. Gitelson's team included senior Alejandra Salazar, juniors Anastasia Pozdniakova and Nicole Vaiana, sophomores Pa'lmai, Schwendenwein and Lauren VanCleave and freshmen Linda Fox and Donna MacLeod.
Szanto's team included Kiess, junior Ginni van Katwijk, sophomore Michelle Hall and freshmen Polotzek, Shamburger, Harmony D'Antoni, Kristine Kelly and Maryanne Ortiz.
The teams competed in a variety of non-standard events to help break the daily grind of practice and give the student-athletes a dual-meet-like environment.
The meet schedule included off-distance events like the 250-yard medley relay, 800-yard freestyle, 125-yard freestyle, 100-yard individual medley, 25-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle relay, 75-yard butterfly, freestyle and backstroke events, 350-yard freestyle, 75-yard breaststroke, 300-yard individual medley and 300-yard freestyle relay.
The Cougars officially open the season on Oct. 13-14 when they travel to Las Cruces, N.M., to face host New Mexico State and Northern Colorado in a two-day tri-meet. UH will compete in front of the hometown fans for the first time at 10 a.m., Oct. 28 when they face Conference USA rival SMU and Oregon State at the CRWC Natatorium.
Players Mentioned
