University of Houston Athletics
Swimming and Diving to Host Conference USA Championships
2/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 22, 2011
| Conference USA Championship Central | Schedule of Events | Psych Sheet
HOUSTON - The University of Houston will play host to the 2011 Conference USA Swimming and Diving Championships at the Cougars' home Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium, Feb. 23-26.
Led by head swimming coach Mark Taylor and head diving coach Jane Figueiredo, the Cougars will square off against East Carolina, Marshall, Rice, Tulane and nationally ranked SMU in the four-day event. The University of North Dakota's men and women's squads will compete in an invitational-style format, just as the men's teams from East Carolina, SMU and Hawaii will do.
"It's always a tough conference meet," Taylor said. "SMU is always who we set our sights on. Then, of course, there's Rice, that little rival school of ours on the other side of town. Plus, there's a tough East Carolina team and then Tulane is also coming on really strong."
A year ago, SMU walked away with the team title, tallying 707 points. East Carolina (623) and Rice (596) finished second and third, respectively as Houston (533.5) locked up the fourth place spot, defeating conference foes Tulane and Marshall.
Houston (7-6) finished its dual meet season at 2-1 in C-USA competition. Since falling to No. 23 SMU to open the season in October, the Cougars have made constant improvement. They battled nationally ranked Arkansas and LSU, then defeated Rice and Tulane to wrap up the month of January.
The Cougars are dialed in, swimming some of their season-best times heading into the conference championships while getting recognized by the league in the process. In three of the last four weeks, Houston has swept C-USA Swimmer and Diver of the Week honors. As a team, the Cougars have earned nine total, with senior All-American Lacey Truelove leading the way with four. Sophomore diver Julia Lonnegren and junior swimmer Kim Eeson each have two,while sophomore swimmer Reka Kovacs earned one.
"This is going to be a special four days," Taylor said. "I've probably never had a group of girls that have worked as hard as these girls have as a whole all year long. We like to say that when you do the work, you get the rewards. I think the girls are going to be justly rewarded at this competition. We can't wait for it to start."
Houston has earned its conference recognition. At least one Cougar appears in nearly all of C-USA's top-three performance lists this season. Eeson holds the second-best times in the conference in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle, setting NCAA `B' times in both earlier this year.
Defending C-USA 200-yard breaststroke champion Beccy Hillis has the second-best 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.88) time in the league and ranks third in the 200-yard breaststroke as she heads into the week to defend her title.
Kovacs also enters the championships ready to defend her title from a year ago. The sophomore won the 400-yard Individual Medley crown in 2010 and was later named the C-USA Freshman Swimmer of the Year. She currently ranks in the conference's top three in the 200-yard butterfly, the 200-yard IM, the 200-yard backstroke and the 400-yard IM.
On the boards, Houston will look to defend its diving dominance. After seven-time C-USA Champion Anastasia Pozdniakova finished her career last season, the Cougars are working to continue the program's storied tradition. Figueiredo has taken C-USA Diving Coach of the Year honors in each year since the award's creation. She will work for her 10th-straight during the 2011 championship, and will have plenty of ammo behind her.
Truelove, a two-time All-American, heads into the league meet with the best 3-meter and platform scores in the conference. She is no stranger to the C-USA Championships as she claimed the platform title as a freshman in 2008 and again as a junior last season.
Lonnegren also comes into the week ready for business. She has the lock on the best 1-meter score in the conference and was named the C-USA Freshman Diver of Year after her performance in last season's championships.
Action begins Wednesday at the CRWC at 6 p.m. The remainder of the schedule will feature a morning session of preliminaries beginning at 10 a.m., and an evening session of finals kicking off at 6 p.m.
