Swimming looks to UNT after Owls capture three of four Florida meets
Recording more losses than wins thus far, the swim team had elicited skepticism from their devotees by the end of 2010. However, three dual-meet wins and a stack of season-best times later, the Owls have weathered a demanding start to the season against elite competition. Additionally, the team went through their usual rigorous winter training in south Florida to be up and ready for the remainder of the season and the Conference USA Championship Feb. 23-26. Still, the Owls had business to finish before they embarked on said winter training. While many students were carefree on the last day of school on Dec. 3, the swim team was busy preparing themselves for a clash against eighth-ranked Texas A&M University at the Rice Aquatic Center.
Despite losing to the Aggies 157- 106, the Owls posted some impressive times and won four individual races. Junior Shelby Bottoms came back from a back injury to win the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:06.49. Freshman Chelsea Fong was 0.7 second shy of breaking her pool record for the 200-freestyle (1:51.88). Sophomore Kylee Talwar won the 100-breaststroke (1:04.89), and sophomore Kim Steinhouse posted a season-best 24.04 for the 50-freestyle. Steinhouse later teamed up with freshmen Fong, Michelle Gean and Karina Wlostowska to post an Owls' season-best 1:35.84 for the 200-free relay.
Fong, who now holds the team's best times for the 50-, 100- and 200-freestyle this season, was named Conference USA Swimmer of the Week the next day.
Two weeks later, Rice furthered their momentum to win 10 of 14 events against Florida International University, claiming the dual meet Dec. 17 with much breathing room. Bottoms continued her season success with a win in the 200-backstroke (2:07.95) and the 100-breaststroke (1:05.83); the latter was the the junior's first time to swim the event this season. Adding to the Owls' points was Fong, who won the 200-individual medley (2:08.31) and her first 500-freestyle at the collegiate level (5:05.93).
Junior Nicole Delaloye racked up another individual win in the 200-freestyle, with a season-best 1:56.22. Sophomore Danielle Spence won the 1000-freestyle by 0.8 second to post a season-best 10:36.93, and Steinhouse won the 50-freestyle with a time of 24.61.
Rice added its finishing touches to the meet by winning the 400-freestyle relay (3:34.43) after taking the top two spots in the 400-medley relay.
To cap the calendar year, the Owls claimed two of three meets at Florida Atlantic University Dec. 18, finishing first in seven of 14 events. Bottoms did not disappoint, as the Houston native touched in first for the 100- and 200-butterfly with times of 58.05 and 2:05.68, respectively.
Rice finished strongly in the distance events, with Delaloye posting a season-best time of 5:06.48 to win the 500-freestyle and junior Alex O'Brien taking the 1,000-freestyle win in 10:26.11.
The highlight of the meet came from the foursome of sophomore Stephanie Wei, Steinhouse, Gean and Fong in the 200-freestyle relay. Fong came from behind to sprint to the end, allowing Rice to tie with the University of Denver. The tie allowed Denver to slip past Rice by a marginal victory of 146.5 to 141.5. Rice beat the University of Cincinnati 184-110 and Florida Atlantic 181-99.
Head Coach Seth Huston gave credit to his swimmers' effort, as some of them have been battling injuries.
"I was pleased with our team performances at [Florida International] and [Florida Atlantic]," Huston said. "Nicole [Delaloye] stepped up and raced great. Chelsea Fong and Shelby Bottoms dominated their events. It has been frustrating to have so many injuries and so much sickness to date."
The Blue and Gray will get their first chance to compete completely healthy today when they take on the University of North Texas. The Mean Green rank 12th in the CollegeSwimming.com/CSCAA Mid-Major Poll and defeated the Owls in their meeting last season, 152-110. The head-to-head matchup between these two Texas foes will start at 4 p.m. at the Rice Aquatic Center.
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