NCAA Div. I: LSU Men and Women Defeat Louisiana

MONROE, Pa. October 28. THE Louisiana State University men's and women's swimming and diving
teams were both victorious Saturday in their first road-dual meet of the 2000-01 season in Monroe, La., at the Lake C. Oxford Natatorium.

"I am both proud and impressed with the way that we came out and competed today," said LSU head coach Jeff Cavana. "This was only our second meet of the season, but yet a lot of our swimmers and divers looked to be in mid-season form."

The Lady Tigers improved to a 3-0 record this season in dual meets, while the LSU men's team also remained undefeated with a 2-0 mark. Both Tiger teams dominated Saturday's meet with wins of 156-74 for the women, and a 141-96 victory in the men's competition.

Seven members of the LSU men's team finished first in their respective events for the Tigers. Senior Erik Petursson placed first in both diving events as the LSU diving team dominated ULM. Petursson was victorious in the 1-meter springboard diving event
with a final score of 278.63. Fellow Tigers, Kyle VanArsdall and Stephen Gebren, completed the sweep with second and third-place finishes, respectively. The trio ended in similar fashion later in the meet on the 3-meter springboard.

The women's diving competition turned out to be even more lopsided than the men's. LSU ended with the top-five divers in the 1-meter event and the top four in the 3-meter. Junior Jaime Watkins led the way for the Lady Tiger diving team by picking up the victories in both events. She scored a 286.95 in the 1-meter and was followed by Barb Gorst (270.67), Michelle Coryell (238.95), Holly Winters (226.43), and Monica Assaf
(225.15). ULM's top scorer was Leslie Hempstead who finished with 146.40 points.

"Both of our diving teams are phenomenal," Cavana said. "Our women are being considered as the best in the nation, and our men have the potential to be at least in the top ten."

In the pool, the LSU men's team was led by Ken "Buzz" Kuhn, Matt Elder, Martin Latz, B.J. Alvarez, and the talented freshmen duo of Ross Buffington and Evan Martinec. Kuhn won the 200-yard freestyle competition with a time of 1:42.00, Elder cruised to victory in the 50-freestyle (21.01). Buffington, the freshman from Seattle, Wash., ended with a time of 16:00.15 in the 1650 free, while his closest competitor was LSU's
Dennis Rowe who finished in 16:28.33.

Martinec and Alvarez each placed first in events which were swept by the Tigers. Martinec, Kuhn, and Nick Tarantino dominated the 100-yard butterfly competition by finishing with the top-three times, while Alvarez led LSU's Mike Jotautas and Will Tanner to a sweep in the 100-backstroke event.

In the women's swimming competition, the Lady Tigers' top performers were Mandy Leach, Donna Leslie, Julie Hughes, Chere Richards, and Lindsey Mooney. Both Leach and Leslie finished first in two events. Leach, who participated in the 2000 Olympic Games, was victorious
in the 50-yard freestyle event (24.26) and the 100-butterfly competition (56.71).

Leslie topped the competition in both the 100 and 1650-yard freestyle events. She swam the 100-freestyle with a time of 53.03, and the 1650-freestyle in 17:33.08.

Hughes, the Lady Tiger sophomore, placed first in the 200-yard freestyle competition by swimming a time of 1:57.01. Mooney finished first in the 100-backstroke event and second in the 400 yard individual medley. LSU's Richards took the top spot in the 400 I.M. with a time of 4:29.79.

The LSU men have now won 16-straight matchups versus ULM and lead the all-time series, 19-1. The Lady Tigers improved to 14-1 versus the Indians and possess a 13-meet winning streak over ULM.

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