Men's Swim and Dive in 12th After First Day of NCAA Championships
March 27, 2003
AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Arizona men's swimming and diving squad made the most of their limited opportunities on the first day of the 2003 NCAA Championships from the Jamail Swim Center on the University of Texas campus.
Despite having only two athletes and one relay in the evening finals, Arizona sits in 12th place with a score of 41 pts.
The Wildcats made the best of their only eligible relay by finishing fourth in the first event of Thursday's evening's action. Freshman Lyndon Ferns began the race with a 19.80, he was followed by junior Eric la Fleur, freshman Simon Burnett and junior Luis Rojas who combined to swim a 1:18.28, bettering their season top time in this event, set earlier in the day.
The final two 'Cats to swim both scored points in the 50y freestyle consolation final. la Fleur led the way by finishing third in the consolation final, 11th overall, with a time of 19.81. Ferns was behind in 14th overall when he touched the wall in a speedy 19.99
The University of Arizona men's swimming and diving squad qualified in 2 different events with a total of 5 athletes for the evening finals after Thursday's preliminaries from the Jamail Swim Center on the University of Texas campus. Arizona's 200y free relay squad garnered a spot in the championship final while the other 3 athletes or relays are set to compete in the consolation final.
The Wildcats began Thursday's preliminaries with an explosive swim of 1:18.51 in the 200y free style relay, beating the previous season best by nearly two seconds. Arizona's quartet of Ferns and Burnett and Rojas and la Fleur qualified for the championship final in the fifth position despite being seeded 15th in the prelims.
After having no participants in the 500y free, the 'Cats boasted two swimmers in the preliminaries of the 200y IM. Junior Juan Veloz paved the way for Arizona with a season best time of 1:47.39 en route to a 17th place finish, one spot out of the consolation final. Senior Jeff Dash was not far behind in 26th place (1:48.44).
In the prelims of the penultimate event, the 50y free, 2 out of a possible 3 swimmers qualified for the consolation final. la Fleur dictated the pace with a new personal best time of 19.77, good enough for 12th. Ferns followed only a .01 behind in 14th place. Rojas rounded out the trio in 37th with his season apogee of 20.25.
The lone Wildcat diver, junior Josh Anderson, earned his second consecutive honorable mention All-America selection by placing 15th on the 1-meter springboard by scoring 283.45 points.
Arizona's group of Burnett, junior Greg Owen and la fleur concluded Thursday's prelims by being disqualified in the 400y medley relay, their time of 3:11.38 would have placed them 6th in the championship final.
The Wildcats return to competition tomorrow morning with preliminaries at 11 am (CST), which are followed by finals at 7 pm (CST). Tomorrow will be the busiest day of the meet, as eight events are to be contested.
Event Competitor Prelims Finals Place 200 Freestyle Relay Ferns (19.93), la Fleur (19.47) 1:18.51 1:18.28 4th Burnett (19.84), Rojas (19.27) 200 IM Juan Veloz 1:47.39 ------ 17th Jeff Dash 1:48.44 ------ 26th 50 Freestyle Eric la Fleur 19.77 19.81 11th-CF Lyndon Ferns 19.78 19.99 14thCF Luis Rojas 20.25 ------ 37th 400y Medley Relay Burnett (47.67), Rojas (46.46) DQ Owen (54.43), la Fleur (DQ) 1-Meter Diving Josh Anderson 283.45 ------ 15th-CF
