March 28, 2007
AUBURN, Ala. - Five current and former members of the Auburn men's and women's swimming teams were in action Wednesday during the fourth of eight days of competition at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.
Most of the action involving current and former Tiger greats took place in the men's 100m freestyle. Rising junior Cesar Cielo, the reigning NCAA champion in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events, has reached the final of the 100-meter free at the World Championships. After tying for ninth in the prelims with a time of 49.28, Cielo improved to 48.87 in the semifinals to tie for sixth and reach what should be a tightly contest final, as the top eight finishers were separated by just 0.36 seconds.
Also competing in the 100m prelims were rising junior Jakob Andkjaer, who was 24th in 49.87 seconds, and former Tiger All-Americans Fred Bousquet (27th in 49.94) and George Bovell (47th in 50.55).
On the women's side, former Tiger Margaret Hoelzer advanced to the semifinals of the 50m back by tying for seventh in the prelims with a time of 28.93. However, she placed 11th in the semifinals in 28.94 seconds and did not advance to the final.
Competition at the FINA World Championships continues through April 1.