Rice University
SMU Classic
Swimmers Finish Sxth At SMU Classic
10/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Oct. 24, 2009
DALLAS -- Rice junior Kait Chura finished fourth in the 200-yard individual medley and eighth in the 200-backstroke to lead the Owl swimmers to a sixth place finish in the team standings on the final day of competition at the 2009 SMU Classic Saturday at the Perkins Natatorium on the SMU campus in Dallas.
Rice was sixth after Friday's opening round and held that spot with 186 points through the meet's 18 events. Fifth-ranked Florida won the meet (353 points), followed by Louisville (309), Wisconsin (280), SMU (271) and Florida State (257).
Chura swam a 2:02.74 in the 200-backstroke for the best time in the event by an Owl this year. The standout from Bozeman, Mont., followed her backstroke display with a new team-best 2:07.00 to take fourth overall in the individual medley.
Rice had steady outings from a pair of sophomores in the meet's lone distance event, the 500-freestyle. Nicole Delaloye finished fifth in the championship final with a season-best 5:10.24. Alex O'Brien actually finished with a better time, 5:06.13, while racing to an eleventh place in the meet's consolation finals. O'Brien was also sixth in the 200-breaststroke with her new collegiate best-time (2:22.17).
The Owls posted two other sixth-place finishes in individual events on the night, including freshman Stephanie Wei in the 200-backstroke (2:06.96) and sophomore Shelby Bottoms in the 100-freestyle. Bottoms' 53.23 is the Owls' best mark in the 100-free this season and just 42-hundrendths-of-a-second off her collegiate best. The Houston native from nearby Lamar High School is swimming well in the early season. Bottoms swam the lead leg on the Blue & Gray's 400-freestyle relay (3:36.96) and the anchor leg on the sprint relay (1:38.28) that both finished sixth.
The Rice swimmers will next be in action at the team's first home meet of the year, a double-dual meet vs. the University of New Orleans and Incarnate Word University on Nov. 6-7. The meet will mark the inaugural event held in the Owls' new state-of-the-art competition pool adjacent to the new on-campus Gibbs Recreation & Wellness Center.
Players Mentioned
