Swimming takes sixth place at SMU Classic
After opening the season with a victory on the first day of competition and a loss on the second at the Phill Hansel Duals on Oct. 9-10 and then placing sixth at the SMU Classic, the swim team feels it has a strong basis on which to build for the rest of the season. Head Coach Seth Huston said he was proud of his team's performance during the two competitions, especially considering the team lost six seniors from last year.
"This is the beginning of the season," Huston said. "So far, with all the challenges that we have had to overcome, with the lost of a senior core, our team is doing really good."
Last week the swim team went to Dallas, where it met University of Florida, University of Wisconsin, University of Louisville, Southern Methodist University, and Florida State University in the SMU Classic, a two-day meet consisting of 18 different events. Senior Angela Wo finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly, recording a season-best time of 57.09 seconds. She also came in sixth place in the 200-yard backstroke and 400-yard medley relay with freshman Stephanie Wei, sophomore Shelby Bottoms and senior Pam Zelnick. Junior Kait Chura recorded a season-best mark in the 200-yard backstroke, placing eighth with a time of 2:02.74 minutes, and the 400-yard individual medley, finishing fifth with a time of 4:28.93 minutes. The team of Bottoms, Wei, sophomore Nicole Delaloye and junior Erin Mattson performed well in the 800-yard freestyle relay, finishing with a time of 7:45.60 minutes. Even though the swim team finished sixth in the SMU classic, they do not see it as a loss, but more of a learning experience.
"The team posted some of their season-best records," Huston said. "They gave each event their best and their timing showed it."
At the Phill Hansel Duals, a two-day meet, the swim team competed against the University of Houston and Florida International University in 20 out of 22 events held those two days. The swim team had first-place winners in three individual events: 100-yard freestyle, 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley. The team also garnered a first-place finish in one of the meets' relays, the 200-yard freestyle relay.
In the 100 freestyle, sophomore Alison Godbe (53.48) placed first. Up-and-coming freshman Kim Steinhouse came in first place in the 50 freestyle, and Chura took the team's final individual first-place finish in the 200 IM, finishing with a time of 2:08.09.
In the 200 freestyle relay, Steinhouse, Bottoms, Wei and Zelnick recorded a time of 1:39.20, 1.59 seconds ahead of Houston.
Despite these numerous top spots, Rice could still not manage to take down Houston (119-93) but defeated FIU (138-66) after the first day.
On the second day of competition, Rice won all five events in which it competed. Chura led the 1-2-3 finish in the 1650-yard freestyle with freshman Kylee Talwar and junior Karen Gerken. A team of Wo, Talwar, Mattson and sophomore Alexandra Ernst finished first in the 200-yard butterfly 4x50 relay. The women also won the 200-yard breaststroke 4x50 relay, 200-yard backstroke 4x50 relay and the 500-yard freestyle relay.
Chura said the Dual meet allowed the team to start the season with a good first impression.
"We lost a lot of swimmers last year, and gained a lot too with the freshman class," Chura said. "Even though it was the first meet of the season, we still wanted to show our fans and competition that we have not fallen short in the offseason."
The swim team has competed in two events so far this season, both with completely different results. Going from a good start at 1-1 to finishing in sixth could be difficult for a team's morale.
Huston has not noticed any change in the team's enthusiasm, however.
"The team has not let last week's performances get them down," he said. "They knew that they were going up against good teams, and they've practiced harder to get ready for the next meet."
On Nov. 6-7, the swim team will be in action at the team's first home meet of the year against the University of New Orleans and University of the Incarnate Word. The two-day meet will mark the inaugural event held in the Owls' new state-of-the-art competition pool.
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