Rice University
C-USA Championships
Swimmers Finish Third At C-USA Championships
2/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 27, 2010
HOUSTON -- Sophomore Alex O'Brien led a 1-2-3 Rice finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle as the Owls' swim team finished in third place in the final team standings on the final day of competition at the 2010 Conference USA Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday night across town at the University of Houston Recreation Center Natatorium. The Owl swimmers compiled 596 points to finish third in the final team standings behind first place SMU (707 points) and East Carolina (611 points).
A solid group of competitors all season, the Owl distance swimmers showcased their talents Saturday in the C-USA's rugged 1,650 freestyle. The Rice trio of O'Brien, Danielle Spence and Karen Gerken went 1-2-3 in the event, respectively. Not only is O'Brien's winning time of 16:43.95 a new personal best, it's the fourth-fastest mark in school history and the C-USA individual championship to go with it. Spence, a freshman from California, clocked a 16:47.56 for second and Gerken was third with a 16:58.97. As if that wasn't enough distance power, Nicole Delaloye was eighth in the event (17:12.95) and sophomore Alison Godbe was ninth (1720.64), giving the Blue & Gray five of the top ten spots.
Rice also scored two second place finishes with junior Kait Chura in the 200-backstroke and Erin Mattson in the 200-butterfly. Mattson, the Owl record-holder and former C-USA champion was second Saturday with a 2:01.75. Chura became only the third Owl in school history to break the two-minute mark in the 200-backstroke, taking C-USA silver with a 1:59.98.
Sophomore sprinter Shelby Bottoms was eighth in the 100-freestyle with 51.32. Senior Angela Wo scored for the team with a strong 51.69 for 12th overall.
Senior Pam Zelnick locked-in the third fastest 100-breaststroke in school history earlier in the championship, and stepped-up to the double the distance on Saturday. The standout from Troy, Ohio, won the consolation finals of the 200-breaststroke with a career-best time of 2:21.23.
The Rice foursome of Zelnick, Wo, Bottoms and Godbe then teamed to take third place in the 400-freestyle relay. The group notched an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:23.33 for the fifth-fastest 400-free relay in school history.
The swim team's 2009-10 regular season has come to a close. The Owls' NCAA provisional qualifiers must wait and see if there is still a chance to swim in the NCAA Championships next month at Purdue University.
Players Mentioned
