University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Big East Championships Preview: Women's IM/Relays
2/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Big East Championships Preview: Women's IM/Relays
2/19/2003
PITTSBURGH ? One day away from the Big East Swimming and Diving Championships, head coach Chuck Knoles is confident that the women's team, under his tutelage for the first year, will improve upon its fifth-place finish from a year ago.
Women's Individual Medley
The individual medleys, composed of either 50 or 100 yards of four different strokes -- backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle -- were some of the tightest races in past Big East meets and this year should be no different on the women's side.
Leading the way in the 200 IM is Lisa Garcia of Notre Dame, with a time of 2:03.96 at the Minnesota Invitational. Just one hundredth of a second behind is Pittsburgh's Carolyne Savini (Egg Harbour Twp., N.J./Holy Spirit) with another NCAA B-cut time of 2:03.97 at the Pittsburgh Invitational. Three other Big East swimmers have earned national B-cut qualifying times, including Katie McCann of Boston College, Elyse McDonough of Syracuse, and Villanova's Kiersten Rosenberg.
Just off the B-cut pace was Jen Koch (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy), who is ranked sixth in the conference in the 200 IM with a time of 2:04.60 at the Pittsburgh Invitational. The other Panther who qualified for the Big East meet with an 'A' time was senior Lacey Hlavka (Fairfax Station, Va./Hayfield), with a time of 2:08.17, placing her 18th in the conference.
Last year's 200 IM winner, Marie Labosky of Notre Dame, is the frontrunner in this year's 400 IM race, with a qualifying time of 4:19.46, an NCAA B-cut. Right behind her is three-time Big East 400 IM champion Maddy Crippen of Villanova. Also near the top are Garcia, McDonough and Koch, who is ranked fifth with a qualifying time of 4:25.95. Hlavka and Savini have also qualified for the 400 IM at the conference meet, while junior Emily Kaszycki (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) has the Big East's top 'B' time of 4:37.20.
Women's Relays
The Panthers' relay teams have improved in each of the last three seasons and entering this year's conference meet, Pittsburgh has the top-ranked relay team in two of the five races to be swum this weekend, and are ranked second in two more.
Pittsburgh has the top time this season in the 200 freestyle relay, swimming it in 1:34.40 at the Pittsburgh Invitational, as well as the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:43.20, which is an NCAA B-cut time.
In both the 400 free and 400 medley relays, Pittsburgh is ranked second behind Virginia Tech, and are currently fifth in the 800 free relay. The top time this year in the 800 free was swum by Rutgers (7:28.26) at the Princeton Invitational.
Tomorrow's Preview: Diving
