Swimming: WVU Breaks Record on Day Two
February 18, 2010 06:24 PM | General
February 18, 2010
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| Rachael Burnett | Jared Goldthorpe |
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The West Virginia University men's and women's swimming teams finished day two of the 2010 BIG EAST Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa., with the women in fourth place and the men sitting in fourth place with 205 points and 182 points, respectively.
“We had an excellent night after coming out rough this morning,” coach Vic Riggs says. “The team showed great character and we have the momentum back. We had multiple records broken, personal best swims and two first-place finishes. Now we need to carry it through tomorrow.”
Freshman Rachael Burnett and seniors Morgan Callaway and Shaunna Purtell started off the meet with a bang by placing first, second and seventh, respectively, in the 500 free. Burnett finished in a time of 4:41.65, a new BIG EAST, school and pool record. Callaway finished in second with a personal-best time of 4:44.89 and Purtell took seventh in 4:51.52. All three times were NCAA “B” cut times.
The freshmen duo of Kata Fodor and Robyn Matthews swam to first- (ninth overall) and second- (10th overall) place finishes in the consolation finals. Fodor finished the race in 4:51.07, while Matthews finished with a time of 4:52.03. Both times were NCAA “B” cut times.
Freshman Jared Goldthorpe continued the 500 free dominance with a first-place finish in a NCAA “B” cut time of 4:24.25. Freshman Hugh Simmonds swam in the finals as well and finished in sixth place with a time of 4:29.28.
After breaking a 20-year old 200 IM record in the preliminary round, freshman Breanna McCann broke the record again with a fourth-place finish in a time of 2:01.30 in the finals. The time was an NCAA “B” cut final.
Sophomore Martin Vanis and junior George Farquhar each swam in the 200 IM consolation finals for West Virginia. Vanis finished the race in second place with a time of 1:50.51. Farquhar finished right behind Vanis in third place with an NCAA “B” cut time of 1:50.70.
In the 50 free finals, senior Kayla Andrews finished in second place with a time of 22.50. The time was a NCAA “B” cut time.
Senior Stephanie Shupe swam for West Virginia in the 50 free consolation finals where she finished in fourth place with a time of 23.42.
Sophomore Brad Eichenseer swam in the 50 free finals for the men and finished in a time of 20.17 for a fourth-place finish.
The day ended with the 200 free relays. The women's team of Purtell, sophomore Sarah Kosmak, Shupe and Andrews finished in third place with a time of 1:31.69. The time was an NCAA “B” cut and school record. The men were led by Eichenseer, Farquhar, Simmonds and freshman Graham Kauffman. The foursome swam to a fifth-place finish in a time of 1:22.59.
The action will resume tomorrow with the preliminary round beginning at 10 a.m. and the finals starting at 6 p.m. Tomorrow's events will include the 400 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast and 100 back. Check MSNsportsNET.com throughout the preliminary round to see who makes it to the finals.
