Arizona Sweeps Hawaii in Season-Opener

TUCSON, Arizona, October 19. THE Arizona men's and women's swimming and diving team opened up the 2012-13 season with 14 first-place finishes in day one of their dual against Hawai'i at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. Head coach Eric Hansen was pleased with the team's first outing of the year.

“Overall I'm really happy to see where we are,” Hansen said. “We had nice freshman performances on both sides, and some upperclassmen that had solid swims as well. I can see the things we're working on begin to trickle into their racing, and that's a very good sign.”

The women were led by freshman duo Bonnie Brandon (Centennial, Colo.) and Emma Schoettmer (Greenwood, Ind.). Brandon had first place finishes in the 200 IM and 200 back, posting times of 2:03.00 and 1:58.34, respectively. Schoettmer swam to victory in the 100 breast with a time of 1:02.88.

Juniors Ashley Evans (Phoenix, Ariz.), Margo Geer (Milford Center, Ohio), and Samantha Pickens (Murrysville, Pa.) also came in first for the Wildcats. Evans won the 200 fly with a time of 2:03.95, Pickens posted a 348.15 in the 3m dive, and Geer won the 100 free with a time of 48.88.

Geer also took a victory in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:33.05. Joining her were seniors Megan Lafferty (Upper Dublin, Pa.) and Monica Drake (Bloomington, Ill.), as well as junior Kait Flederbach (Carmel, Ind.). The other relay for the day, the 400 medley, was also won. Flederbach, Lafferty, and seniors Chelsey Salli (Vancouver, B.C.) and Lauren Smart (Charlotte, N.C.) hit the wall with a final time of 3:19.45.

The men experienced similar success, posting six first-place finishes on the day.

Senior Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or (Jerusalem, Israel) edged out junior teammate Woody Joye (Coosada, Ala.) to take the 200 IM with a time of 1:52.26.

Junior Matt Barber (Kingwood, Texas) swam a 500 free in 4:35.33 to take first, while sophomore Kevin Cordes (Naperville, Ill.) won the 100 breast with a time of 55.37. The final individual first place finish for the men went to senior Matt Hurko, who swam a 1:51.24 200 back.

As with the women, the men also won the 200 free and 400 medley relays. Juniors Mitchell Friedemann (Allenton, Wis.), Tommy Gutman (Jacksonville, Fla.), Giles Smith (Baltimore, Md.), and senior Nick Popov (Karlsruhe, Germany) led the way in the 200 free with a time of 1:22.55. The men closed out day one with a 3:19.45 time on the 400 medley relay, swam by Friedemann, Cordes, Joye, and Shapira Bar-Or.

The second and final day of the opening dual will begin tomorrow, Saturday Oct. 20 at 10 a.m.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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