March 27, 2009

McDonald completes first day at the NCAA Championships

COLLEGE STATION, Texas- Virginia Tech men’s swimming and diving team took the pool on the first day at the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas. Texas leads the competition with 171 points. Junior Mikey McDonald was the only H2Okie in action this evening.

McDonald, who last year became the first H2Okie diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships, competed in the 1-meter dive for Tech. The junior from Annandale, Va. posted a score of 329.80 in the event for a 16th place showing in the preliminary round. McDonald finished in 14th place with a score of 341.15 and scored three points for Tech.

“Mikey did an extremely good job in a very talented group of divers,” said head diving coach Ron Piemonte. “He was up against two NCAA finalists and a former NCAA champion and showed great poise and consistency during the competition.”

Tomorrow Tech will look to score in the 100 back and the 3-meter dive event. Follow all the action live at http://www.aggieathletics.com/ncaa2009/swimming/men/.

Prelims: Day One at Men’s NCAAs

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Virginia men’s swimming team began competition Thursday at the 2009 NCAA Championships with preliminaries in the 200 freestyle relay, 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle and 400 medley relay. The event, which is being held at the Student Rec Center Natatorium on Texas A&M’s campus, runs through Saturday.

Live coverage of the 2009 Men’s NCAA Championships can be found by clicking here.

Sophomore Matt McLean will swim in the finals of the 500 freestyle tonight after finishing fourth in the preliminaries, clocking a time of 4:13.79. Georgia's Troy Prinsloo topped the prelimiary heats with a time of 4:12.49. McLean's mark of 4:10.00 from the ACC Championships is still the fastest in the nation this season.

Ross Collects All-America Honor in 1-meter Diving

College Station, Texas - University of Miami junior Reuben Ross took seventh place in the 1-meter diving event Thursday evening, collecting his third consecutive All-America honor for the event at this year's NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships in College Station, Texas. This year's event is hosted by Texas A&M University inside the Student Recreation Natatorium.

Ross finished the event with a score of 379.80 through six final dives. He started the day finishing fourth in the preliminary round with a score of 367.35.

Ross began the finals with a score of 74.10 after completing an Inward 2 ½ Somersault Tuck, but found his second dive (Forward 3 ½ Somersault Tuck) a bit harder as he scored just a 42.30, moving to eighth place.

The Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada) native bounced back on his third dive with a score of 63 to move up a spot to seventh place after landing a Reverse 2 ½ Somersault Tuck. That seventh place spot is as high as Ross would advance, however, as the rest of the field stayed steady throughout their final three dives. Ross went to score a 70.50 on his fourth dive, a Reverse 1 ½ Somersault Tuck, 2 ½ Twist Free.

Horner Earns Honorable Mention All-American Award On First Day Of NCAA Swimming And Diving Championships

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Florida State men's swimming and diving team opened the 2009 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday with junior Terry Horner scoring the Seminole's only points in College Station, Texas. FSU ended day one with six points.

"It was a tough morning for us," FSU head coach Neil Harper said. "We did score points and now we have to prepare ourselves for tomorrow. I'm disappointed, but we need to pick ourselves up and get excited for the rest of our opportunities."

Horner earned honorable mention All-American status with his 11th-place finish on the one-meter board. After a difficult preliminary round, the Orlando, Fla., native scored 371.65 points in the consolation final. Senior Dan Frebel finished 34th in the event (259.70).

"I'm disappointed for Terry," said FSU diving coach Patrick Jeffrey. "He had trouble on his most difficult dive, but he still almost came back. I was proud that he dove well in the consolation final and he hung in there all day and didn't give up."