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Volume 72, Issue 110,
Monday, March 19, 2007
Sports Season marked by triumph Cougars score personal bests, knock off rivals and etch names in NCAA history by JONG LEE
A fourth place finish in the Conference Championship does not usually merit a grandiose celebration. When the athletes on the UH swimming and diving teams look back on the 2006-07 season, that fourth place finish will come to mind, but it probably wonít be the first thing to take shape. This season marked the first year since 1992 that Houston has beaten Rice in a dual meet. On Nov. 11, 2006 in the Phil Hansel Duals the Cougars would not know their fate until after the last event. They held hands, bending over in anticipation. Whispers could be heard throughout crowd. Then the scores flashed on the screen: UH, 176 Rice, 171. The cheer was deafening ----ó and for good reason. The Cougars had just ended a 14-year drought. ìWe are extremely proud that we were able to beat Rice, for the first time in 14 years,î UH head swimming coach Mark Taylor said following the meet. ìItís truly a great accomplishment and all I can say is if it wasnít for the young ladies we have and how hard theyíve worked over the last year, two years, three years weíve had them here in this program, theyíve been working for today and they got that.î There were some significant individual accomplishments, especially for seniors Szintia Szanto and Rachel Gitelson. Szanto finished her final competition at the Conference USA Championship in February with a second-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke, and left her name behind as the second fastest swimmer in the 200 in Houston history. Gitelson concluded her final C-USA Championship with a first-place finish on the platforms, helping the Cougars sweep the platforms. No one was happier to see her win than head diving coach Jane Figueiredo, who won diving coach of the year for the sixth consecutive season. ìIt was just great (when Gitelson came back to win),î Figueiredo said. ìShe worked so hard ... and itís just great to see all of her hard work on her special board payoff. Thatís really what the excitement was.î The diving team didnít stop producing there. Junior Ginni van Katwijk finished second in the consolation NCAA finals for the platform, and sophomore Anastasia Pozdniakova was the NCAA national runner-up in the 3-meter springboard and placed fifth in the 1-meter springboard. The two divers Figueiredo sent to the NCAA Championships put her at 23 divers sent to nationals in 17 seasons coaching at UH. ìIíve gotten great support from the athletic department, No. 1. No. 2, Iíve been very fortunate that weíve had some great athletes come our way and put us on the spotlight. I really learned a lot, and itís really due to the athletes and their successes,î Figueiredo said. ìThereís just really good communication between us and we both want to be successful, and thatís really the main ingredient.î The Cougars finished with one of their most impressive dual-meet record of 17-6, nearly doubling their previous record of nine wins from 2005-06. Despite all of the accomplishment, UHís season was not without disappointments. The Cougars sank a place further in the standings at the C-USA Championships. Houston finished their 2005-06 season with a third-place finish, and the Cougars could not improve on that this season. ìAny time you finish below your expectations itís a little sad, but all of the athletes we have on our team right now swam great (in the conference championships),î Taylor said. ìThey had some better times than they did this season. There were inspirational swims, school records broken, NCAA qualifying times made and I donít have any complaints about the athletes we have here.î The Cougars also lost their top diver from last season, Tania Cagnotto, who had to go back to Italy. Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu |
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