University of Houston
Rice
Tough Competition Highlights Day One of Swimming & Diving Meet
1/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Jan. 29, 2010
HOUSTON - The University of Houston swimming and diving team leads Tulane and trails Rice and LSU following the first day of competition at the Cougars' dual meet at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.
The Cougars took home four event wins during the competition that will continue tomorrow starting at 11 a.m.
"I am really pleased with our first day of competition and our distance swimmers were outstanding," head coach Mark Taylor said. "We had a lot of great times and our stars of day were Christine Salinas, Kimberley Eeson and Olga Bordatcheva."
Freshman Reka Kovacs took top honors with a personal best 10:16.23 in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Her finish also ranks fifth among the Top 10 performers in school history. Also competing in the event was sophomore Olga Bordatcheva (fifth), sophomore Natalie Newcomb (eighth) and sophomore Rachel Holcomb (11th).
Kovacs then capped the afternoon with a fifth place finish in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:07.12. Teammate sophomore Beccy Hillis trailed in 11th (2:11.75) while junior Andrea Kells was 14th (2:12.62).
Sophomore Beccy Hillis gave the Cougars their second win of the afternoon, turning in a time of 2:17.34 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Freshman Holli Pisarski trailed in eighth place with a time of 2:28.99 and freshman Catherine Finley was 11th (2:39.49).
Sophomore Kimberley Eeson joined her fellow teammates turning in a win in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:51.42. Freshman Christine Salinas followed in second (1:52.38) and freshman Haley Weathers was 19th (2:08.67).
Eeson followed that up with a seventh place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a finish of 24.33. Other competitors included Salinas (11th), Fraser (16th), Pisarski (20th), Weathers (22nd) and Finley (23rd).
Sophomore Jessalyn Almond won the 1-meter diving event with a career-best 270.00 points and following in second was freshman Julia Lonnegren with 249.05 points.
Freshman Kimmy Ballo was ninth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:00.54, followed by sophomore Rachel Johnson in 13th (1:10.36). Turning in a seventh place time of 57.72 in the 100-yard butterfly was Kells and following in 13th was freshman Moira Fraser with a time of 1:01.84.
The Cougars "A" relay team of Ballo, Hillis, Kells and Salinas finished second in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:48.93. The "B" team of Johnson, Finley, Fraser and Weathers followed in eighth with a time of 2:03.89.
The "A" relay team in the 400-yard freestyle relay turned in a fifth place time of 3:37.54. The team consisted of Eeson, Fraser, Ballo and Salinas. Houston also had a "B" team that was 10th with a time of 3:47.49. Team members included Bordatcheva, Weathers, Pisarski and Newcomb.
Houston will be back in the pool tomorrow beginning at 11 a.m. for day two of the meet.
TEAM SCORES
Rice 122, Tulane 54
LSU 139, Tulane 42
LSU 121, Rice 58
Houston 110, Tulane 73
Rice 106, Houston 74
LSU 106, Houston 78
Players Mentioned
