Typically a 1-3 record at anything should not warrant a pat on the back, but given the competition the men’s portion of the U swim team was up against last weekend, 1-3 isn’t bad at all.
Despite the fact that the men lost to Georgia (259-94), Purdue (263-90) and Penn State (223-130), they did beat Louisville by a 224-105 margin and a few of the men performed exceptionally well.
Marco Ferrero took second place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:33.97 to set a new season best for him in that event. Andrew Cole and Adam Oliver also took advantage of the extremely fast pool at Purdue University by setting season-bests in the 200 backstroke and the 1000 freestyle events, respectively.
Seamus Alger also made a name for himself by swimming the seldom seen 400 IM. The Ute swimmer placed second overall with a time of 4:01.41.
Although David Maasberg did not achieve a season best in the 50 freestyle sprint, he did place third overall, which was one of just a handful of podium finishes for the Utes in Indiana.
The men also closed out the Invitational well when the A-team finished third in the 400 freestyle event with a season-best time of 3:06.40.
“This was a great meet for us,” U head coach Michael Litzinger said. “The Purdue Invitational was a good experience for us to see some of the top teams on the national level, and I’m pleased with how we have set ourselves up for success.”
On the other side of the team, the women traveled down to San Diego for the second time in three weeks, this time to face the San Diego State Aztecs.
The women breezed passed SDSU with a final score of 133-105. As Litzinger projected before the meet, the women got a chance to see what some of their underclassmen can do.
Sophomore Shannon McQueen won two individual events in the 200 and 500 freestyle events. She also helped the Utes place first in the 400-medley relay.
Utah won 10 of the 13 events, and the team could not have done it without the help of their upperclassmen.
Amber Walter and Alison McInturff continued to swim strong for the now 4-0 (2-0 MWC) Ute women as they placed first in the 100 and 50 freestyle sprint events, respectively.
Diver Kelsey Patterson continued to excel on her side of the pool as she dominated both the 1- and 3-meter dives for the fourth consecutive week.
Because coach Litzinger opted to be with the men during their longer and more competitive competition, assistant Ron Lockwood filled in as head coach for the women.
“The girls swam great today,” Lockwood said. “This meet is great preparation for the Ohio State Invitational and sets us up for what we are looking to accomplish in the conference.”
The women and men will both have to wait until Dec. 1 to compete again, as they are taking a short hiatus from competition during the Thanksgiving break.