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The Utes conclude the Mountain West Conference Championships tomorrow in Oklahoma City.
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Feb. 27, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - After the third day of competition at the Mountain West Conference championships, the University of Utah women's swimming and diving team is in fourth-place with 366 points. The Utah men remain in sixth-place with 223 points.
Eric Murray (Woodstock, Ga.) posted a time of 3:57.39, which was his fastest time this season and was enough to finish in second in the event. Murray's finish is the highest for the Utes in the championships thus far.
"I'm really proud of Eric," said head coach Greg Winslow. "We were really looking for him to step up. Within the last 50 meters, it looked like he could have won it all. It was a great race for him."
John Baque (Olympia, Wash.) was sixth in the 100 breast with his time of 55.49. The performance was his lifetime best, beating the previous best of 56.10 that he set earlier in the season.
"It has been a really ground-breaking meet so far this week," said Winslow. "We are hoping this race is just a warm up for John for the 200 breast tomorrow."
Two members of the women's team won individual championships today. Whitney Lopus (Scottsdale, Ariz.) finished first in the 100 fly with her time of 52.44. Her time beat the previous MWC record in the event and made the NCCA `B' standard cut, possibly qualifying her for the NCAA Championships. Hannah Caron (Raleigh, N.C) also placed in the event, with her time of 53.75 putting her in third. Caron's time was also a `B' standard in the event. Jennifer Fredsall (Kearns, Utah) finished in fifth for the Utes with her time of 55.31.
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Kwan Ling Yu (Yuen Long, Hong Kong) finished in first-place in the platform dive with her score of 247.60. It was the first time that Yu had competed in the event all season. This is the second time that Yu has won the event, and the fourth time in a row a Ute has been the MWC platform dive champion. Kelsey Patterson previously won in the event before Yu.
Other top finishers were Natalie Edge (South Jordan, Utah) in the 200 free. Her time of 1:49.84 put her in sixth-place in the event. Annie VanLeeuwen (West Valley City, Utah) finished in third in the 100 breast with a time of 1:02.95. The time was VanLeeuwen's fastest of the season. Shannon McQueen (Ottawa, Ontario) finished in eighth-place in the 100 back with her time of 56.67. The time beat her previous season-best of 57.50.
The Utah women's 400 medley relay finished off the night in second with their time of 3:41.05. The team, made up of McQueen, VanLeeuwen, Caron, and Lopus, broke the previous University of Utah record of 3:44.51 in the event. The time was also a `B' standard time.
"Overall, those that have performed great through the season have performed great here," said Winslow.
The MWC Championships will conclude Saturday.
