University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Big East Championships Preview: Women's Distance Freestyle
2/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Big East Championships Preview: Women's Distance Freestyle
2/13/2003
PITTSBURGH ? The women's swimming and diving team is one week away from competing in the Big East Championships and looking to improve on its fifth-place finish of a year ago.
Distance Freestyle
The two distance freestyle events held at the Big East Swimming and Diving Championships are the 500 and 1650-yard free races.
The 500 free will be the first individual swimming competition of the three-day meet. Senior Emily Colley (Pace, Fla./Pace) is the Panthers' top-ranked swimmer in that event, placing sixth at last year's Big East Championships with an NCAA B-cut time of 4:51.40 and is ranked fourth so far this year with a time of 4:53.52, also an NCAA B-time.
Not too far behind Colley is freshman Nicole Ebert (Spring, Texas/Klein). Ebert has been one of the strongest additions to the Panthers' roster in 2002-03 and is currently fifth in the Big East in the 500 free with a time of 4:54.32, just off an NCAA B-cut qualifying pace.
The Big East's top two swimmers in the 500 free this year are Villanova's Becky Koch and Maddy Crippen. Koch topped Crippen at the Princeton Invitational on December 6, 2002, with a time of 4:47.31, just 1.48 seconds faster than her teammate. Crippen, however, won last year's Big East title with a time of 4:47.45, while Koch finished fourth. Rutgers' Erin McIntyre was the second-place finisher at last year's meet but is ranked 18th in 2002-03.
Other Pittsburgh swimmers that have qualified for the Big East meet in the 500 free are freshman Kate Butrie (Orefield, Pa./Parkland), junior Emily Kaszycki (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe), and junior Carolyne Savini (Egg Harbour Twp., N.J./Holy Spirit). Freshman Amy Miteff (Wellington, Fla./Wellington) has the top B-time for the meet at 5:05.67.
Saturday's 1650 freestyle is the longest event but could be one of the most interesting races in the conference. Koch is again the favorite with a top time of 16:42.96 this season at the Princeton Invitational. Behind her are Notre Dame's Marie Labosky (16:44.50), and McIntyre (16:53.15). Joining them with NCAA B-cut times is Ebert, who swam it in 16:53.62 at the 2002 Pittsburgh Invitational.
Colley is right behind Ebert in fifth place with a time of 16:59.82, and earned All-Big East honors in the 1650 free last season by finishing third behind Crippen and McIntyre. Butrie also qualified for the 1650 free with a time of 17:11.35, along with Kaszycki (17:34.62) and senior Rubi Cisneros (Monterrey, Mexico/Monterrey) (17:37.84).
Tomorrow's Preview: Backstroke
