TicketsFeb. 20, 2010
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - University of Cincinnati swimmer Josh Schneider was named BIG East Conference Men's Swimmer of the Year for the second-straight season as the 2010 BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships wrapped up Saturday at Trees Pool in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The men's team matched its best-ever league meet finish in the BIG EAST, taking fifth with 305 points. Louisville (808) edged out Notre Dame (758) for the title. Pittsburgh (535) was third, followed by West Virginia (442), UC, Connecticut (288.5), Seton Hall (184.5), Georgetown (133), Villanova (108), Providence (70), and Syracuse (32).
The women's team placed seventh with 256 points. Notre Dame took top honors (773.5), followed by Louisville (718), West Virginia (525), Pittsburgh (426.5), Rutgers (303), Villanova (292), the Bearcats, Connecticut (205), Georgetown (96), Seton Hall (68), and Providence (62).
Schneider took first place in the 100 freestyle Saturday, wrapping up a dominant four-day performance. He clocked 43.00 in the 100, breaking his own UC and BIG EAST meet records and setting a Trees Pool record, winning by half a second over the second-place finisher. It is the fourth-fastest time in the country this season and an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.
Schneider won three individual league titles (50 free, 100 free, 100 fly), setting UC, meet, and pool records in all three events. He is a seven-time BIG EAST Champion and hit the NCAA A standard in the 50 freestyle in 19.08, the fastest time in the nation this season, automatically qualifying him for the NCAA Championships for the second-straight year.
Elinore de Jong timed in at 50.80 to take seventh place in the women's 100 freestyle A final. Lange Gilby won the women's B final with a time of 50.66.
Jeremy Peter bettered his school record (1:58.42) by nearly two seconds, earning a second-place finish with an NCAA B time of 1:56.95 in the men's 200 breaststroke A final.
Stephanie Conklin was seventh in the women's 200 breaststroke A final, clocking 2:17.85
Nathan Williams placed second in the men's 1,650 freestyle, clocking an NCAA B time of 15:28.50. Stephen Cunningham (15:47.44) and Nate Kramer (15:48.67) made it three Bearcats in the top-10 as they placed seventh and eighth, respectively. Ethan McNeil placed 17th with his time of 16:18.37 and Paul Krone grabbed 20th place with his effort of 16:49.70.
Melody Smith swam a time of 17:18.54 in the women's mile, the 1,650 freestyle, to place 18th. Bree Rossi placed 20th with her effort of 17:26.58, and Charlotte Nilsson was 21st in 17:28.72.
Liz Hansson clocked an NCAA B time of 1:58.69 in the 200 backstroke, placing sixth. Erin Frye and Anna Bersani took 15th and 16th in the B final, clocking 2:04.46 and 2:05.01, respectively.
Laurie Caudy earned fifth place in the consolation final of the women's 200 butterfly with a time of 2:04.41.
The women's 400 freestyle relay team of Gilby, de Jong, Laban, and Hansson clocked and NCAA B time of 3:22.73, just missing the school record of 3:22.51. They placed fourth.
The men's quartet of Matt Hays, Roberto Nevarez, Peter, and Schneider took fifth place with a time of 3:01.96, a shade over the NCAA B standard of 3:01.09.