Dec. 8, 2002
Bulldog Women's Swimming Wins UNO Invitational; Men Finish 2nd
Results - Day
1
Results - Day
2
The Truman men's and women's swim teams competed in Omaha, Nebraska this weekend at the University of Nebraska at Omaha Invitational. Both teams saw strong competition as many of their opponents were rested for the meet.
On the women's side, the Bulldogs won the meet with 1,423 points. UNO was second with 827, and Wisconsin-LaCrosse placed third with 665 points.
For the men, the University of South Dakota won the meet with 1,330 points. The Bulldogs were close behind with 1,164.5 points, and Gustavus Adolphus came in third with 760.
Many of the Bulldog women improved on their season best times to dominate the meet and qualify more swimmers for nationals. Freshman Whitney Jensen (Grinnel, Iowa/Grinnel) qualified for nationals as part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team with teammates Sara Hatcher (Kingdom City, Mo./North Callaway), Diana Betsworth (East Moline, Ill./United Township), and Sarah Dance (Lincoln, Neb./Southeast). They swam a 1:36.53 to win the event.
Sophomore Michaela Osborn (Tipton, Iowa/Tipton) improved on her season best time in the 100-yard breaststroke. She won the event with a 1:04.77, nearly two seconds under the national cut.
Freshman Meredith Rocha (Whitehouse, Texas/Grace Community) won the 100-yard butterfly in a 57.63, also an A-cut.
The women's 400-yard medley relay also achieved a national cut. Senior Kelli Dudley (Topeka, Kan./West), Osborn, Rocha, and Hatcher swam a 3:54.52 to win the event.
Betsworth achieved an A-cut in the 100-yard freestyle, winning the event with a time of 52.56.
The Bulldog men also swam well. Senior Matt Pray (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) achieved a B-cut in the 50-yard freestyle, placing second with a 21.51. He also posted a season best time in the 100-yard butterfly with a 50.08 to win the event by over a second. That time was well under the A-cut. Pray also won the 100-yard backstroke with a 52.91, a B-cut.
Junior Brian Teson (Kansas City, Mo./St. Pius X) finished third in the 100-yard butterfly, posting a lifetime best time of 51.45. That time is well under the B-standard. Teson also placed second in the 100-yard backstroke with a 53.65, a B-cut as well.
Sophomore Eric Paden (Prairie Village, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) won the 1,650-yard freestyle and achieved a B-cut with his time of 16:52.44.
The last event of the meet, the men's 400-yard freestyle relay topped off a great weekend of competition. In a very close race, the team of Pray, sophomore Ashtyn Beek (Lincoln, Neb./Southeast), Teson, and freshman Josh Otis (Johnston, Iowa/Dowling), lost to South Dakota by a hundredth of a second with a time of 3:09.78.
Catch the Bulldogs in two weeks when they travel to Cleveland, Mississippi for the Delta State Invitational on December 18-20.