Swimmers from across Conference USA will join UH students at the University’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium this week as Houston hosts the 2009 C-USA Championships, which begins at 2 p.m. today and runs through Saturday.
The UH swimming and diving team ranks fourth in C-USA standings behind East Carolina, Rice and SMU, going into today’s meet.
East Carolina’s Amanda Duncan was named the C-USA Swimmer of the Week by setting a pool record in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:04.14 and capturing a first-place victory in the 100-yard fly with a time of 59.96 seconds against William and Mary on Feb. 7.
For Houston, resident record-breaker senior Sasha Schwendenwein will be called upon to match Duncan stroke for stroke. A specialist in butterfly and freestyle, Schwendenwein will play a key role in leading the Cougars to victory.
In the freestyle, freshman Kimberly Eeson looks to continue her impressive first-year collegiate campaign. Eeson was also selected to represent her native country of Zimbabwe in the FINA International Swimming Federation’s World Championships in Rome.
Today’s swimming contests include the 200 and 800-yard freestyle relays. Houston’s 11-time C-USA diver of the week, junior Anastasia Pozdniakova, will be heavily favored in the diving events, which begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday. Diving competitions include platform 1-meter and 3-meter intervals.
Trial rounds will take place in the mornings and early afternoons with the finals and consolation races taking place in the evenings after 6 p.m. The C-USA Championships are free to the public and is the last major meet before March’s NCAA Championship.
