Swimming: WVU Set for BIG EAST Meet
February 18, 2004 05:23 PM | General
February 18, 2004
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| Franca |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The WVU swimming and diving team is set to compete in the BIG EAST Championship Meet on Thursday, Feb. 19, through Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, N.Y.
Preliminary rounds will begin at 10 a.m., and the final rounds will start at 6 p.m., each day.
"We are very energetic and getting a little antsy as a team right now," said coach Steve Phillips. "We are definitely ready to go."
All eyes will be on senior Kleyton Franca as he will try for his fourth straight BIG EAST title in the 200-yard freestyle event on Friday, Feb. 20. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native will attempt to become the 11th male swimmer in conference history to win four championships in one event.
Other hopefuls for the WVU men's team include junior co-captain Matt Drozd in the sprint freestyle events, junior Pedro Pinto, who earned all-BIG EAST honors in the 100 butterfly event last year, and senior co-captain Travis Watson, also in the butterfly events.
The Mountaineer 200 freestyle relay team of Franca, Kyle Williams, Chris Hagedorn, and Drozd set pool records in the final two dual meets of the season and look to make a major impact at the BIG EAST meet.
For the West Virginia women, senior Lee Ann Johnston looks to close out a productive career in the backstroke events while sprinters Livia Cascao and Elizabeth Cleary look to score points for WVU. Freshman diver Jennifer Nyce has been a consistent scorer for the Mountaineers all season long and looks to continue her success at the BIG EAST meet.
The West Virginia men's team finished in sixth-place overall at last year's conference meet while the women placed ninth overall.
"We understand that the competition is tough and the BIG EAST has completely improved as a whole since last season," said Phillips. "I know that we will give it our best and as long as we keep the high energy level up, we will be fine."
For a complete day-by-day listing of events, visit:
http://www.bigeast.org/sports/swimming/releases/02-10-04.asp
