Swimmers Open New Season Saturday In Open Water
9/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Sept. 30, 2010
Ten Rice swimmers will compete in the fourth annual Open Water Swimming National Collegiate Championships on Saturday (Oct. 2) on Lake Travis in Austin, Tex. The meet, featuring 5,000-meter women's and men's races hosted by the American Swimming Association (ASA), is the Owls' first competition of the 2010-2011 swim season. Start time is set for 9 am at the Mansfield Damn.
The Owls scheduled to compete include Shelby Bottoms, Quincy Christian, Emily Crowder, Nicole Delaloye, Karen Gerken, Alison Godbe, Carter Graves, Sarah Korellis, Alex O'Brien and Danielle Spence.
Rice head coach Seth Huston has long been both a coach for, and participant in, open water events - which feature extended distance (freestyle) races across natural bodies of water. Though open water races are not in the NCAA's competition lineup, it has grown in popularity around the world to the point where it became a fully-sanctioned medal event at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. With medal status in the Olympics, it's understandable that the U.S. and other countries would encourage and keep an eye on its up-and-coming college stars who could one day win Gold.
"Open water swimming is an emerging sport," Huston said. "It is untraditional when you think of college swimming, but meets like this are a way to see who has potential for the sport in this new arena competition. We introduced (former Rice swimmer) Brittany Massengale to open water swimming and in 2006 she became the first Owl to make the United States National Team. It is also a great way to toughen up mentally when you have to race for about an hour straight."
Back in Rice's home pool (the man-made one with the lanes), coach Huston reports that training for the upcoming `traditional' swim season has been flying ahead of schedule. A week after the Open Water Meet, the Owls travel to Boise State for a two-day season-opening dual on Oct. 8-9. Huston is pleased with the team's progress, particularly the newcomers who will be in their first season at the Division level.
"We have had a great preseason of training," Huston said, the 2010 Conference USA Coach of the Year. "The freshmen have really impressed all. The returning team is very excited about the year and they have done an excellent job of working together and building cohesion.
"I think Stephanie Wei and Nicole Delaloye have started out really well and set a high standard for the rest of the team," Huston added. "Freshmen, Carter Graves, Lilly Marrow and Michelle Gean have been great in their day-to-day training. Alison Godbe, Alex O'Brien, Alexandra Ernst, Quincy Christian and Chelsea Fong have really been coming on over the last couple of weeks. We're excited to start the season."
Players Mentioned
