Dec. 2, 2005
AUBURN, Ala. - Former Tiger Margaret Hoelzer captured her second title of the weekend while sophomore Emily Kukors, junior Adrienne Binder and senior Eric Shanteau all picked-up second place finishes as the Auburn men's and women's swimming and diving teams completed their second day of action at the 2005 U.S. Open Swimming (LCM) Championships at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center on Friday night.
"The second day for us picked up quite a bit especially tonight," head Auburn coach David Marsh said. "I was proud of our team's enthusiasm and you can certainly sense that the team enjoys helping each other race. What I am looking for tomorrow is some better morning swims. This morning we came in a little flat. Part of what we are trying to do at this meet is practice the routine that will be involved in the NCAA Championships - preparing for three straight days of prelims and finals."
Hoelzer collected her second title of the championships as last night's 200 back winner completed the backstroke sweep by winning the 100 tonight in a time of 1:02.26, which was a personal-best time and the second-fastest time every swum by an Auburn women. Also swimming in the finals was senior Jeri Moss, who dropped three spots from this morning's swim to fourth with a time of 1:04.13. Freshman Margo McCawley finished fifth in the consolation finals (1:05.42).
"I've been training for the 100 a little more and have tried to get it into my schedule a little," Hoelzer said. "I want to make it an event for me on the international level at some point and I think I am headed in the right direction."
"Margaret Hoelzer, our post-grad, she stood up and performed well," Marsh commented. "That was the second best time of her career. She is really just getting in shape right now. For her to be that close to a best time is a great sign for the future for her this season."
Kukors put together a personal-best swim in the 200 freestyle, swimming the last 50 meters in a field-best 29.63 seconds, as she touched as the runner-up to winner Katie Hoff with a school-record time of 2:00.49. Hoff, a U.S. Olympian in 2004, narrowly missed breaking the American record as she finished in a time of 1:59.47, six one-hundredths of a second off of the American mark. Senior Erin Volcan also put forth a lifetime best in the event, registering a 2:04.58 to win the `C' Final.
"I knew it was going to be a tough field," Kukors said. "There were a lot of good competitors, a lot of people who were on the World Championships team this year. I knew I could keep up with them and race them and stay strong throughout the race. The last 75 (meters) was all about guts. I finished it hard and I was very pleased with my time."
"Emily Kukors had a major breakthrough in the 200 freestyle," coach Marsh said. "For her to go two minutes flat is very impressive as that time would have made the past two Olympic teams. That is pretty significant for someone who has mentally battled the long course pool. She came in and did a great job as a freshman last year in the short course pool so this was a great experience for her."
Binder dropped her time to a 4:50.52 in finishing second to Courtney Kalisz (4:45.64) in the championship finals of the 400 IM. Teammate Lauren Duerk was four spots behind her in the championship finals, touching in a time of 4:54.66, which was a personal-best for the senior by almost a half-second. Binder's classmate, Hayley Peirsol, won the consolation finals with a time of 4:55.41 while fellow junior Anne Amardeilh won the `C' Final with a time of 4:58.32. Hoelzer finished third in the `C' Final (5:01.36) and freshman Laura Leclair was eighth (5:08.71).
Shanteau moved up two spots from this morning's prelims of the 400 IM and shaved off almost eight seconds from this morning as the Lilburn, Ga., native finished second to Robert Margalis (4:23.94) with a time of 4:26.25. Junior Mark Johnson won the `C' Finals by touching in 4:36.34.
"I was pleased with out 400 individual medley on both the men and women's side," Marsh noted. "It was by far our strongest event of the day. Adrienne Binder, Lauren Duerk, Eric Shanteau and Mark Johnson all performed where we wanted them to."
Junior James Wike moved up two spots from this morning and dropped his time by a quarter-of-a-second to finish fourth in the championship finals of the 100 backstroke, stopping the clock at 57.24. Freshman Nick Bovell dropped a second off of his morning swim and moved up from a 17th-place qualifying to a 12th-place finish.
Again it was a pair of former Tigers leading the way in the championship finals of the men's 100 fly as Jeremy Knowles went 54.57 to finish sixth and Andy Haidinyak 55.65 to finish eight. Of the current crop of Tigers, junior Mark Johnson had the top time, registering a 56.42 to place 13th overall. Sophomore Luke Weniger (56.42) took third-place in the `C' Final while senior Kurt Cady (56.43) was fourth in the same heat.
Sophomore Rory Connell brought home an eighth-place finish in the men's 200 free, clocking a 1:52.86, lowering his time by 12-hundredths of a second from this morning's time. Junior Joey Schneider dropped almost three quarters-of-a-second off of his lifetime best in touching in 1:53.05 to place second in the consolation finals. A trio of Tigers swam in the `C' Final with senior George Bovell winning the heat at 1:54.30, senior Doug Van Wie (1:54.95) finishing two spots behind him and junior Daniel Slocki (1:55.43) one spot behind Van Wie.
Junior Tawnie Bethune took top honors in the consolation finals of the 100 fly as she lowered her time by over a second from this morning's prelims, registering a 1:02.48. Sophomore Kristen Hastrup also shaved a significant amount of time off of her finals swim from this morning, finishing sixth in the consolation finals with a time of 1:03.87. Freshman Margo McCawly also lowered her time from this morning, touching as the runner-up in the `C' Final at 1:03.65 while senior Jeri Moss finished 24th overall with a time of 1:04.60.
The Auburn women's team closed out the night by picking up a third-place finish in the 400 medley relay (4:18.73). Volcan led off for the Tigers' `A' team and went 1:05.55, putting the Tigers in second after the first leg. Duerk took over the breaststroke leg and split a 1:13.80 before giving way to Bethune on the fly leg. Bethune stopped the clock at 1:02.09, the second-best fly split, before senior Jana Kolukanova anchored with a 57.29, the fastest freestyle leg of the night.
The AU men finished off the night with a fifth-place finish in the 400 medley relay (3:53.27). Van Wie went 59.21 on the backstroke before giving way to Wike, who split 1:06.04 on the breaststroke. Connell then split 56.93 on the fly before giving way to Matt Targett, who split 51.09, the fastest freestyle leg of the field.
Tomorrow's prelims begin at 9:30 a.m. CT and live results will be posted on ww.omegatiming.com.
US OPEN - DAY 2 - FINALS
TOP QUALIFIER AND ALL AUBURN FINISHES
WOMEN'S 100 BACKSTROKE FINALS - LCM 1. Margaret Hoelzer 1:02.26 4. Jeri Moss 1:04.13 13. Margo McCawley 1:05.42
MEN'S 100 BACKSTROKE FINALS - LCM 1. Ryan Lochte 55.83 4. James Wike 57.24 12. Nick Bovell 58.49
WOMEN'S 200 FREESTYLE FINALS - LCM 1. Katie Hoff 1:59.47 2. Emily Kukors 2:00.49 17. Erin Volcan 2:04.58
MEN'S 200 FREESTYLE FINALS - LCM 1. Pieter van den Hoogenband 1:46.23 8. Rory Connell 1:52.86 10. Joey Schneider 1:53.05 17. George Bovell 1:54.30 19. Doug Van Wie 1:54.95 20. Daniel Slocki 1:55.43
WOMEN'S 100 BUTTERFLY FINALS - LCM 1. Katie Hoff 1:00.18 9. Tawnie Bethune 1:02.48 14. Kristen Hastrup 1:03.87 18. Margo McCawley 1:03.65 24. Jeri Moss 1:04.60
MEN'S 100 BUTTERFLY FINALS - LCM 1. Todd Cooper 53.66 6. Jeremy Knowles 54.57 8. Andy Haidinyak 55.65 13. Mark Johnson 56.42 19. Luke Weniger 56.42 20. Kurt Cady 56.43
WOMEN'S 400 IM FINALS - LCM 1. Courtney Kalisz 4:45.64 2. Adrienne Binder 4:50.52 6. Lauren Duerk 4:54.66 9. Hayley Peirsol 4:55.41 17. Anne Amardeilh 4:58.32 19. Margaret Hoelzer 5:01.36 24. Laura Leclair 5:08.71
MEN'S 400 IM FINALS - LCM 1. Robert Margalis 4:23.94 2. Eric Shanteau 4:26.25 17. Mark Johnson 4:36.34
WOMEN'S 400 MEDLEY RELAY FINALS - LCM 1. King Aquatic 4:15.93 (Kukors - 1:04.29, Jendrick - 1:09.09, Eronemo - 1:04.34, Jennings - 58.21) 3. Auburn `A' 4:18.73 (Volcan - 1:05.80, Duerk - 1:13.80, Bethune - 1:02.09, Kolukanova - 57.29) 8. Auburn `B' 4:25.28 (Caldwell - 1:06.55, Jensen - 1:13.70, McCawley - 1:04.69, Brands - 1:00.34)
MEN'S 400 MEDLEY RELAY FINALS - LCM 1. Alabama 3:49.26 (Perry - 1:00.13, Polyakov - 1:01.12, Bitsakis - 56.52, Tsagarakis - 51.49) 5. Auburn `A' 3:53.27 (Van Wie - 59.21, Wike - 1:06.04, Connell - 56.93, Targett - 51.09) 7. Auburn `B' 3:55.34 (Bovell - 59.55, Osborne - 1:06.89, Scott - 56.03, Cady - 52.87)