Arizona Heats up NCAA Championships with Second Place Finish
Atlanta, Ga. ?- The Arizona men’s swimming and diving team completed the 2006 NCAA Championships tonight in second place with 440.5 points, only 40 points behind four-time national champions Auburn.
Nine Wildcats tallied four out of five relay titles, two individual crowns and 20 new records to post the highest finish at the meet for the men in school history. Head swimming coach Frank Busch was also named NCAA Head Coach of the Year for the second year in row.
“The last three days have gone so well I can hardly believe they were real, Busch said. “We fought really hard. Getting coach of the year is too easy with this team. It comes from the guys swimming so well and being coached so well by the rest of the coaching staff.”
The 400 free relay team of seniors Simon Burnett, Lyndon Ferns, sophomore Albert Subirats and junior Adam Ritter posted the perfect finish to an almost perfect meet for Arizona, winning the fourth relay title for the Wildcats with a new pool and school record time of 2:48.39.
Beginning tonight’s action was sophomore Nick Thoman, who finished third overall, while breaking his own school record the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:41.31.
Burnett and Ferns swam in the championship finals of the 100 freestyle as Burnett finished third with a time of 42.54 and Ferns finished fifth with a time of 42.65. Ritter finished third in the consolation finals of the race, and 11th overall with a personal best time 0f 43.24.
Sophomore Ivan Barnes finished seventh in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:56.62.
“We have never had a meet like this and there is nothing to compare it to, it’s definitely new territory for me and for our program,” Busch said. “I’m really proud of the seniors, they are such a great group of guys. They have a mindset that I have never seen before, and they will be sorely missed.”
Final Team Scores:
Auburn 480.5
Arizona 440.5
Stanford 362.5
Texas 307
Florida 268.5
Total Records Broken at the Meet:
100 Breast Dave Rollins 52.68 (school)
200 Back Nick Thoman 1:41.31 (school)
100 Fly Lyndon Ferns 45.89(school & pool) *
200 Free Simon Burnett 1:31.20(NCAA, U.S. Open, school & pool)*
100 Free Simon Burnett 42.39 (pool)
200 IM Adam Ritter 1:44.15(school)
200 free relay Burnett, Ferns, Subirats, Ritter 1:16.54(school)
400 medley relay Thoman, Barnes, Subirats, Ritter 3:06.08(school/pool)*
200 medley relay Subirats, Rollins, Ferns, Burnett 1:23.88(NCAA, U.S. Open, school, pool)*
800 free relay Burnett, Ferns, DeBerry, Ritter 6:16.67 (Pool/ school)*
400 free relay Burnett, Ferns, Subirats, Ritter 2:48.39 (school/ pool)
* - Indicates National Champion
