Conference USA Championships: SMU Teams Lead Day Two

HOUSTON, Texas, February 29. THE SMU men's swimming and diving team bested two more Conference USA records and notched 13 new career records, two season-bests, two NCAA `A' cuts and five NCAA `B' cuts.

The Mustangs started the evening by picking up their first C-USA record of the night in the 200 free relay. Shane Milu, Thomas Fadnes, Pontus Renholm and Luka Vrtovec touched the wall in 1:18.57, beating their previous season-best mark by over a full second. Milu swam a season-fastest split of 19.86 and Vrtovec finished with a 19.26 split. The relay made an NCAA `B' cut, missing the automatic cut by just one tenth of a second.

Three Mustangs notched career-best marks in the 400 IM. Nate Clark continued his outstanding meet, recording his second personal best in as many days. Clark's 3:51.34 was over two and a half seconds faster than his previous career mark. Maverick Smalley set a new personal best in the event as well, finishing second in 3:52.13, bettering his previous mark by two and a half seconds. John Huddleston took fourth in a career-fastest 4:02.17.

Brett Denham earned second in the 100 fly, swimming a career-best 48.57. Denham broke his prior mark by over half a second.

In the diving event, Matthew Culbertson turned in a huge performance, earning second on the three-meter board. Culbertson's score of 382.50 was a career-best and an NCAA `A' cut. He was only 10 points behind event-winner Magnus Frick of Hawaii. Landon Owen finished eighth with 232.40.

Milu swam a career-fastest 1:37.40, good for NCAA consideration and a new C-USA record. Thomas Fadnes finished third in a personal fastest 1:38.00 and Travis Callaghan finished fifth in a career-best 1:40.91.

Four Mustangs swam career marks in the 100 breast, led by senior Alex Hetland, who swam one of the country's fastest times, touching in at 52.61. Hetland's time was almost three-tenths of a second faster than his old mark and good for a new C-USA record. The time was also a full second faster than the NCAA `A' cut. Grega Plevelj took third in the event, finishing in a career-best 55.26. Mitchell Johnson finished right behind him in a career-fastest 55.74. Jerr Merritt clocked a personal best as well, taking sixth in 57.24.

SMU finished the evening with strong performances in the 100 back. Pontus Renholm clocked a career-best time of 47.93, good for NCAA consideration. Colton Ingraham finished fifth in a personal best 52.46.

"Shane [Milu] got us started with a fast split in the 200 free relay," said head coach Eddie Sinnott. "I'm pretty confident that relay will make the NCAAs, so all four should go. The team did great in the 400 IM. Brett [Denham] did a lifetime best in the 100 fly, which was great for him. Shane came up big for us in the 200 free also. He was the underdog going into that event, so that was a big win. The 200 free was a great race for the team. Matt [Culbertson] was amazing to get second in diving, and Landon bounced back from a tough start to dive very well, which is impressive for a freshman. Alex's 100 breast was close to the school record, which I know he wants to break, so that was huge for him. It's just been a good night for the Ponies. Everybody's firing on all cylinders. We're having fun, and when we have fun, good things happen."

SMU is in first in the team standings with 648.5. Hawai'i is in second with 553, followed by East Carolina with 452.5 and Cal State Bakersfield with 290.

The Mustang women continued their domination of the Conference USA Championships, setting four more new C-USA records, nine career bests, four NCAA `A' cuts and seven NCAA `B' cuts.

SMU started with a season-fastest 200 free relay. Petra Klosova, Candace Blackman, Elzanne Werth and Sascha Van den Branden swam the course in 1:30.83, almost a full second faster than their previous mark and good for an NCAA `A' cut.

In the one-meter diving event, Britney Yancey had another solid night, taking fourth with a score of 272.25. Audra Egenolf finished just behind her with 269.43. Houston took first through third places.

Jenny Basel put up the Mustangs' second C-USA record of the evening, finishing the 400 IM in a career-fastest 4:17.29, an NCAA `B' mark. Maroua Mathlouthi took second in a season-fastest 4:18.14, good for NCAA consideration. Jaime Williamson finished fourth for the Ponies in 4:26.16.

In the 100 fly, Angela San Juan Cisneros swam a career-best and C-USA record time of 53.65, good for an NCAA `A' cut. Werth finished just behind her in 53.81, missing the automatic cut by five one-hundredths of a second. Justine Clark finished fourth in 55.30, her fastest time of the season and an NCAA `B' cut.

The Mustangs' third C-USA record fell in the 200 free, when Jennifer Blackman touched the wall in a career-fastest 1:45.52, good for an automatic NCAA cut. Her sister, Candace Blackman, finished just behind her in 1:47.09, also making an NCAA `A' cut. Van den Branden took fourth in the event, clocking a time of 1:48.87, an NCAA `B' cut.

Devon Callaghan was just touched out in the 100 breast. Callaghan took second in the event, touching the wall in 1:02.09, just six one-hundredths of a second out of first place, but good enough for NCAA consideration.

SMU earned its fourth C-USA record in the 100 back, as Anja Carman swam a lifetime-best 53.58, punching her ticket to the NCAAs. Klosova took second in the event, finishing in 54.67, a career-fastest time for her and an NCAA `B' cut. Gabriela Soza took sixth, swimming a career-fastest 57.04.

"It's been a great night for us," said head coach Steve Collins. "Starting out with our season-fastest time in the 200 free relay was big for us. It was a really great swim for the girls. Angela [San Juan Cisneros] swimming her career-best time in the 100 fly was really huge and I'm so happy for her. She was really excited about that. We're all just really excited and having fun. We're looking forward to tomorrow and finishing the meet out."

The Mustangs are in first after the third day of competition, leading the way with 628 points. Rice is in second with 407, followed by East Carolina with 352, Houston with 286 and Marshall with 217.

Special thanks to Southern Methodist for contributing this report.

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