Sunday, December 30, 2007

Truelove Leads Houston Diving on Platform at Texas Invitational

AUSTIN, Texas and OXFORD, Ohio (December 1, 2007) University of Houston freshman Lacey Truelove scored 221.35 points to finish fourth on the platform and lead the Cougar diving team during the final day of the Texas Invitational at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

It was the second straight day that the London, Ontario, native led the Cougars after finishing fourth on the 1-meter springboard on Friday.

Senior captain Ginni van Katwijk placed sixth with 210.55 points, while freshman Courtney Forcucci placed 11th with 190.55 points.

Despite not having their swimming counterparts with them, the Cougars finished 12th in the team standings with 40 points. Arizona won the team competition with 859 points.

Meanwhile, junior Sasha Schwendenwein led the Cougar swimming team during the final day of the Miami (Ohio) Invitational at Corwin Nixon Natatorium. The Randburg, South Africa, native won the 500-yard freestyle with a clocking of 4:55.51.

It was the second straight day that Schwendenwein won an individual event after claiming top honors in the 200-yard freestyle on Friday.

Although they did not have their diving teammates, the Cougars finished ninth in the team standings with 551 points. Host Miami (Ohio) won the team competition with 2,103 points.

The Cougars will take nearly a month off before continuing their winter training at 5 p.m., Dec. 31, at the Hawai’i Relay Meet in Honolulu, Hawai’i. UH also will square off against an opponent to be determined on Jan. 4 in Honolulu
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Schwendenwein Leads Houston Swimmers at Miami (Ohio) Invitational; Truelove Tops Cougars on 1-Meter Springboard at Texas Invitational

AUSTIN, Texas and OXFORD, Ohio (November 30, 2007) University of Houston junior Sasha Schwendenwein posted a time of 1:49.88 to win the 200-yard freestyle by less than a tenth of a second during the second day of the Miami (Ohio) Invitational at the Corwin Nixon Natatorium.

After finishing with a time of 1:53.13 during the preliminaries earlier in the day, Schwendenwein bested her time by more than three seconds in the finals. In the finals, the Randburg, South Africa native edged Miami (Ohio)’s Allison Stevens.

Junior Andrea Pa’lmai finished fourth in the 400-yard individual medley with a clocking of 4:29.79.

The Cougars stood in 10th place in the team standings with 301 points. Host Miami (Ohio) led the way after the second day with 1,070 points and was followed by Truman State (858), Oakland (614), Denison (459), Wright State (411), Cincinnati (345), Marshall (306) and Emory (304).

The Cougars wrap up their stay at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational, beginning at 9 a.m., Saturday. The day’s schedule includes the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard backstroke, 500-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard breaststroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley and 400-yard freestyle relay.

On the diving side, freshman Lacey Truelove finished sixth on the 1-meter springboard with 253.20 points in the finals. Earlier in the day, the London, Ontario, native qualified for the finals, scoring 247.75 points in the preliminaries.

Freshman Courtney Forcucci scored 214.95 points in the preliminaries to finish 22nd.

The divers conclude their visit to Austin, beginning at 12:30 p.m., Saturday with the platform competition.

Despite not having their swimming counterparts, the Cougar divers stood in 11th place with 40 points in the team standings at the Texas Invitational
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Houston Swimming and Diving Sweeps FIU and Indian River CC

MIAMI, Fla. (November 3, 2007) The University of Houston swimming and diving team wrapped up its road trip through Florida in impressive fashion Saturday with a sweep of host Florida International and Indian River Community College at the Miami Shores Pool.

The Cougars claimed a 151-90 win over Florida International and enjoyed a 136-107 victory over Indian River CC. It was the Cougars’ second win over the Golden Panthers during an eight-day stretch.

UH won five of the 10 individual swimming events, one relay event and swept the Top Three places in both diving events to improve to 5-3 this season.

The Cougars’ 200-yard medley relay team of sophomore Jessica Shamburger, junior Doreen Polotzek, freshman Andrea Kells and junior Sasha Schwendenwein started the day in impressive fashion with a first-place finish after a clocking of 1:53.46.

Freshman diver Courtney Forcucci helped lead the Cougars to a sweep of the Top Three places in both events. The Fort Mill, S.C., native won the 1-meter competition with 267.90 points and recorded 301.20 points to win the 3-meter event.

She was the only diver in either event to crack 300 points. It was the second straight meet that Forcucci reached that milestone after leading the Cougars in a dual-meet loss at Miami (Fla.) on Friday afternoon.

Junior Andrea Pa’lmai won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:57.10 and added a similar finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:13.72.

Schwendenwein finished first in the 200-yard individual medley after posting a time of 2:09.16. The Randburg, South Africa, native also claimed first place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.41.

It was the second straight meet that Pa’lmai and Schwendenwein won multiple events during a dual meet.

Shamburger, the 2007 C-USA Freshman Swimmer of the Year, won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:01.51.

Senior captain Ginni van Katwijk, the 2007 Conference USA Co-Newcomer of the Year, and freshman Lacey Truelove finished 2-3 in both events to help lead the divers.

The Cougars will take a couple of weeks off before the divers return to play host to the Houston Diving Invitational Nov. 15-17 at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium. The swimmers compete again on Nov. 29-Dec. 1 when they travel to Ohio for the Miami (Ohio) Invitational.

Pa'lmai, Schwendenwein Lead Houston Swimming and Diving at Miami (Fla.)

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (November 2, 2007) Junior swimmers Andrea Pa'lmai and Sasha Schwendenwein each recorded first-place finishes in a pair of events, but it would not be quite enough as the University of Houston swimming and diving team dropped a 179-101 decision to Miami (Fla.) on Friday at the Norman Witten Student Union Pool.

With the loss, the Cougars saw their overall record fall to 3-3.

Schwendenwein captured top honors in the 200-yard freestyle after posting a time of 1:52.82 and finished first in the 500-yard freestyle with a clocking of 5:02.39 to finish nearly five seconds ahead of her closest competitor.

The Randburg, South Africa, native also finished second in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.77

Pa¹lmai won the 1,000-yard freestyle competition with a clocking of 10:16.68 to finish more than 10 seconds ahead of her closest competitor. She added a similar finish in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:06.26.

The Budapest, Hungary native also finished second in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:09.25.

On the diving side, freshman Courtney Forcucci recorded 301.73 points to win the 3-meter springboard. The Fort Mill, S.C., native was the only diver to crack 300 points in either event.

Senior captain Ginni van Katwijk recorded 261.53 points to finish second on the 1-meter springboard, less than three points behind the Hurricanes¹ Brittany Viola.

The Cougars continue their road trip through the Sunshine State on Saturday. UH squares off against Florida International and Indian River Community College in a tri-meet at 10 a.m., Saturday at the Miami Shores Pool.