Saturday, October 27, 2007

Results from Day 2 of Phill Hansel Duals Weekend

By Robert H. Kelly

Below is the link to the official results from day two of competition at the Univeristy of Houston Swimming and Diving Phill Hansel Duals Weekend.

Click
here to view the results.

Houston Swimmers/Divers Post 2-2 Record at Phill Hansel Duals Weekend

(HOUSTON, TEXAS, October 27, 2007) University of Houston junior Andrea Pa'lmai won the 200-yard backstroke and finished second in the 400-yard individual medley to help lead the Cougar Swimming and Diving Team to a 2-2 split during the final day of the Phill Hansel Duals Weekend at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium.

The Cougars enjoyed a 237-114 win over Florida International and upended New Orleans 244-101 while losing 247-106 to Brigham Young University and 214-133 to cross-town and Conference USA rival Rice. With the split, the Cougars stand at 3-2 overall in dual meets.

BYU was the big team winner of the week, winning all four of its dual matches. Rice finished second with a 3-1 mark followed by the Cougars. New Orleans went 1-3, and Florida International dropped all four of its matches during the two-day meet.

Pa'lmai captured top honors in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:04.20. The Budapest, Hungary native also finished second in the 400-yard individual medley with a clocking of 4:29.74.

A day after provisionally qualifying for the 2008 NCAA Championship in the 200-yard freestyle, junior Sasha Schwendenwein finished second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:55.91.

The Cougar divers, competing in their first meet of the season, finished 2-3-4. Freshman Courtney Forcucci tallied 265.45 points to finish second. Senior captain Ginni van Katwijk, winner of the 1-meter competition Friday, finished third with 249.50 points, while freshman Lacey Truelove placed fourth with 241.70 points.

The meet is named after longtime Swimming and Diving head coach Phill Hansel, who led the program from 1975 to 1996, earning 70 dual-meet victories and three Southwest Conference Coach of the Year honors.

The Cougars return to action next weekend when they hit the road for a weekend trip to Florida. UH opens its trip at 4 p.m., Friday when it faces Miami (Fla.) before facing Florida International and Indian River Community College at 11 a.m., Saturday.

Results from Day 1 of UH Phill Hansel Duals Weekend

By Robert H. Kelly

Below is the link to the official results from day one of competition at the Univeristy of Houston Swimming and Diving Phill Hansel Duals Weekend.

Click here to view the results.

Swimmers/Divers Split after First Day at Phill Hansel Duals Weekend

(HOUSTON, TX, October 26, 2007) The University of Houston swimming and diving team stood ahead in two meets and trailed in two meets following the first day of the Phill Hansel Duals Weekend on Friday at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium.

The Cougars led Florida International 126-59 and led New Orleans 131-50 while trailing BYU 128-58 and crosstown rival Rice 115-68.

The two-day meet concludes at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, with the 400-yard medley relay, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard backstroke, 1-meter diving, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley and 200-yard freestyle relay.

Fans and media should note that Saturday's meet begins at 11:30 a.m., not 11 a.m., as originally listed in some publications. The meet is free and open to the public, which is invited to attend.

The meet is named after longtime Swimming and Diving head coach Phill Hansel, who led the program from 1975 to 1996, earning 70 dual-meet victories and three Southwest Conference Coach of the Year honors.

Junior Sasha Schwendenwein won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.95 to finish nearly three seconds ahead of her closest competitor. The Randburg, South Africa, native also provisionally qualified for the 2008 NCAA Championships with her clocking.

Sophomore Jessica Shamburger, the 2007 Conference USA Freshman Swimmer of the Year, grabbed top honors in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 59.20.

The Cougar divers finished 1-2-3 in their first competition of the season with senior captain Ginni van Katwijk leading the way. The Grootebroek, Netherlands, native finished with 293.45 points.

Freshmen Lacey Truelove and Courtney Forcucci - competing in their first collegiate meets - placed 2-3 with 274.75 points and 267.70 points, respectively.

The Cougars' 200-yard medley relay team of Shamburger, junior Doreen Polotzek, freshman Andrea Kells and Schwendenwein finished third with a time of 1:49.32.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Houston Swimming and Diving Plays Host to Phill Hansel Duals Weekend

(HOUSTON, TEXAS, October 25, 2007) The University of Houston swimming and diving team opens its 2007-2008 home schedule this weekend as it plays host to the second annual Phill Hansel Duals Weekend at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium.

The meet is free and open to the public, which is invited to attend. In addition to the Cougars, the two-day meet features crosstown- and C-USA-rival Rice, BYU, New Orleans and Florida International.

All five teams will compete against one another in dual-meet scoring.

Friday's action begins at 5 p.m., with the 200-yard medley relay, 1,000-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 3-meter diving, 50-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley and 400-yard freestyle relay.

The meet concludes at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, with the 400-yard medley relay, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard backstroke, 1-meter diving, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley and 200-yard freestyle relay.

Fans and media should note that Saturday's meet will begin at 11:30 a.m., not 11 a.m., as originally listed in some publications.

The meet is named after longtime Swimming and Diving head coach Phill Hansel, who led the program from 1975 to 1996, earning 70 dual-meet victories and three Southwest Conference Coach of the Year honors.

A year ago, the Cougars went 4-1 during the Hansel Duals Weekend, posting wins over Mesa State, Rice, Trinity and New Orleans. Only a loss to Nevada blemished a perfect record.

The Cougars (1-0) come into the meet after enjoying a 116-85 win over Southwestern in Georgetown on Oct. 12. At that meet, Cougar freshmen led the way with Paige Bissett posting first-place finishes in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard backstroke.

Other Cougar freshmen to record first-place finishes during their first collegiate meets included Brittany Copeland and Andrea Kells. Freshman Lindsey Graves swam the opening leg of the Cougars' winning 200-yard freestyle relay team.

Following Friday's meet, the Cougars return to action at 4 p.m., Nov. 2, when they face Miami (Fla.) in a dual meet. That meet is part of a weekend trip to the Sunshine State. Following their meet against the Hurricanes, the Cougars face Florida International and Indian River Community College in a tri-meet at 10 a.m., Nov. 3 at the Miami Shores Pool.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Coverage of University of Houston Swimming and Diving

TexSport Publications has begun this blog to consolidate their coverage of the University of Houston Swimming and Diving Team. Articles posted at the main publications site of TexSport Publications and its accompanying blog TexSport Publications Blog will also be posted here.

We will continue to post the main articles on both the above mentioned sites, but will give a bit more in depth coverage of them here at this site.

We know this site will give the swimmers and divers better and more concise coverage better serve our readers who follow the Cougar swimmers and divers.