Swimming: WVU Finishes BIG EAST Championships
February 21, 2009 09:09 PM | General
February 22, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS – The word consistency is one that can be used to describe the West Virginia University swimming and diving team’s performance at the 2009 BIG EAST Championships. The Mountaineers finished up in fourth place on men’s side and fifth on the women’s. The men scored 405 points trailing Notre Dame (782.5), Louisville (773) and Pitt (442.5), while the women scored 377 points behind Notre Dame (828), Louisville (581), Pitt (492.5) and Rutgers (380).
Throughout the championships, West Virginia produced a total of four individual BIG EAST Champions. Senior Michael Walker gave the men a win in the 400 IM with his BIG EAST and school record time of 3:45.45, while junior Morgan Callaway led the women with wins in the 500 free, 200 free and 200 back, all new school records. Junior Kayla Andrews gathered the fifth and final champion title tonight with her win first-place finish in the 100 free. Senior Lindsey Largo also was a BIG EAST Champion in the mile.
The men’s day began with freshman Ian Stavros having a great showing in the mile. Stavros placed in fifth with a time of 15:44.90.
In the 200 back, junior Tim Field swam in the A-finals and finished in seventh place at 1:48.50. Freshman Taylor Camp swam in the B-finals where he touched the wall in sixth place with a time of 1:50.07.
Freshman Brad Eichenseer and senior Payton Brooks grabbed some big points for the Mountaineers in the B-finals of the 100 free. Eichenseer placed second with a time of 44.67, while Brooks swam the race in 45.73 for sixth.
The A-finals in the 200 breast featured senior Michael Walker and junior George Farquhar. Walker placed in second with a time of 1:55.72 in a very exciting school-record swim. Farquhar swam the race in 2:00.72 for sixth place. In the B-finals of the 200 breast, freshman Jack Greenhalgh swam to a sixth-place finish in 2:04.05.
In the A-finals of the 200 fly, senior Pablo Marmolejo placed in third with a NCAA “B” cut qualifying time of 1:44.03. That swim broke his previous school record set in 2007. Freshman Martin Vanis continued his impressive meet in the 200 fly B-finals with his second-place finish in the 200 fly with a time of 1:47.32.
The men finished their meet with the 400 free relay placing fifth. Brooks, Camp, Eichenseer and Farquhar swam to the placing in fifth with a time of 2:59.95.
Largo and juniors Andrews and Callaway all had huge first-place finishes for the Mountaineers.
Callaway has been the story of the meet for the Mountaineers and swam to her third BIG EAST Championship of the meet. Callaway started the A-finals of the 200 back in the fifth seed, but started the race out front and never looked back with a time of 1:55.65. That time was a NCAA “B” cut qualifying time and a new school record as well.
Largo swam the mile swim in 16:22.31, a new school record, and with a time of 9:55.5, she also broke the record for the 1000 free and a NCAA “B” cut qualifying time. It was also failed to be mentioned last night that Largo broke her own school record in the 400 IM.
Andrews swam the 100 free A-finals in a time of 48.53 to defend her BIG EAST Championship she won last year. Andrews’ time was a NCAA “B” cut qualifying time as well.
Junior Shaunna Purtell joined Andrews in the A-finals of the 100 free and placed in sixth place with a time of 50.39. Junior Stephanie Shupe swam in the B-finals to a time of 51.58 for seventh place.
To end the meet for the WVU women, the 400 free relay team made up of Andrews, Callaway, Purtell and Shupe finished their meet in the style breaking their own school record with a finish of 3:18.20, an NCAA “B” cut qualifying time.
--MORE TO COME--
