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November 2, 2007 > Sports > Swimming continues strong start at Phill Hansel Duals

Swimming continues strong start at Phill Hansel Duals

By Tracy Dansker | For the Thresher

Although often seen as an individual sport, the collaborative effort of the Rice swim team this past weekend demonstrated the importance of teamwork even in the water.

Rice blew Florida International University, the University of New Orleans and cross-town rival University of Houston out of the water, improving its record to 7-1, and falling only to Brigham Young University this past weekend at the Phill Hansel Duals Meets.

“We were very competitive with that team — we just kind of got out-swam,” assistant coach Jada Hallmark (Sid ‘01) said. “And if it were a different point in the season, when we had a little bit more rest behind us, it would be a closer meet.”

Despite this loss, the Owls are in good spirits, especially having beaten UH (3-2) after they failed to do so last year. Of the four teams, UH is the only Conference USA team and thus the only team Rice faces again this season.

“We thought we did a great job and set the momentum to go into conference,” co-captain and junior Natalie Kirchhoff said. “We let UH know that we are on top of our game and they better get with it because we are a force to be reckoned with.”

The swim team now has two weeks off to rest and get ready for the Speedo Cup in Irvine, California on November 15-17. There, the Owls will face around 15 teams, all mainly from the west coast. Because no other C-USA teams will be competing, there is not the same pressure, however, they are still going in to the meet looking to swim their best.

“At a meet like this, you go in, much less focused on winning the meet overall, but really looking to get an overall feel for how you’re doing in the season and get some fast times,” Hallmark said. “Who we beat isn’t as important.”

This past weekend Rice made use of its enormous depth in order to finish second overall at the Phill Hansel Duals, which were held at the UH Recreation Center Natatorium. Posting only one first place finish, the team relied upon its members to snag second, third, and fourth place finishes to gain significant points. Lone senior Brittany Massengale finished first in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10 minutes, 3.18 seconds. Junior Carlyann Miller contributed as well, scoring key points in the 200-yard freestyle, 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle as the top finisher for Rice. Strong swims from teammates junior Keri Hyde and co-captain and junior Diane Gu in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle, respectively, supplemented Miller’s performance.

Freshman Kait Chura and sophomore Pam Zelnick also both had impressive finishes in their events - Chura took third in the 100-yard backstroke and second in the 200-yard backstroke, while Zelnick took third in the 200-yard breaststroke and second in the 100-yard breaststroke. Finishing second in all four of the relay events helped the Owls score crucial points.

“Our relays were really a big improvement from our last meet and really I think made a difference this time compared to last time,” Hallmark said.

Both freestyle relays, the 200-yard and 400-yard, were made up of Hyde, Zelnick, Gu and Miller. The fact that the Owls were able to finish second and third in the 400 freestyle helped with overall point totals. The third-place team was composed of sophomores Stephanie Eberhardt and Megan Land, Massengale, and junior Catilin Warner.

Gu, Zelnick, sophomore Angela Wo and junior Skylar Craig swam the 200 medley, finishing in 1:48.29 and Chura, Hyde, Zelnick and Miller swam the 400 medley relay, finishing in 3:58.26.

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