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Sports

Hoping for lady luck, Cougars break even

Cougars fall to the Wolf Pack, but get win over the New Mexico State Aggies in Nevada dual-meet

by JONG LEE
The Daily Cougar

The Houston Cougars went into Saturday's swim meet looking to earn their eighth win of the season, the most since 2003-04. The Cougars arrived in Reno, Nev., late Friday night because of flight problems, almost certainly resulting in fatigue problems.

"Flights got in late," head coach Mark Taylor said. "We were very lucky that the hotel we were staying at was close to the facility. They were a little sluggish at first, but they finished off very strongly with the meet."

Houston finished the afternoon against two tough opponents with a split, defeating New Mexico State (2-7, 1-5 WAC) and falling to Nevada (12-1, 6-0 WAC).

"Both teams were very good," Taylor said. "We had a hard fight ahead of us. We had to step up today and show our pride, being representatives of the University, and the girls really took it to heart."

The Cougars were able to put up 139 points against Nevada, who entered Saturday's meet, averaging 96.625 points. Houston was also able to hold the Wolf Pack to just 155 points, almost 45 points under their average over the past four meets (198.875).

"We swam some outstanding swims," Taylor said. "We did real well against Nevada. They just had a little more depth than we did, so that 15-point win was really close."

Houston was able to take a 180-110 win over New Mexico State. The Aggies finished the meet with two losses, giving up 405 points total on Saturday's dual meet.

"We beat New Mexico State very well," Taylor said. "We won most of the races against them. I think they only beat us in two relay races."

The Cougars displayed another outstanding performance: junior Szintia Szanto and freshmen Andrea Pa'lmai and Sasha Schwendenwein each earned two first-place finishes. Freshman Lauren VanCleave also finished first in the 100-yard butterfly with the time of 58.81, and also took second in the 200-yard butterfly.

"We had outstanding swims by Andrea Pa'lmai," Taylor said. "(She) got two firsts and one second. Szintia Szanto got two firsts and one second place. Sasha Schwendenwein did really well also with two firsts and a third. Lauren VanCleave won the 100 butterfly, which was a really good swim for her, and we just had outstanding swims."

The Cougars will come home to take on their last dual meet against Tulane. The meet originally was scheduled in New Orleans, but with Hurricane Katrina affecting New Orleans, they were forced to reschedule to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.
 

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