Beavers Send Three to Lafayette for NCAA Championships
March 14, 2005
Corvallis, Ore. - Thursday, March 17 200-Yard Freestyle Relay 500-Yard Freestyle 200-Yard Individual Medley 50-Yard Freestyle 1-Meter Diving 400-Yard Medley Relay Friday, March 18 200-Yard Medley Relay 400-Yard Individual Medley 100-Yard Butterfly 200-Yard Freestyle 100-Yard Breaststroke 100-Yard Backstroke 3-Meter Diving Trials 800-Yard Freestyle Relay Saturday, March 19 1650-Yard Freestyle 200-Yard Backstroke 100-Yard Freestyle 200-Yard Breaststroke 200-Yard Butterfly Platform Diving 400-Yard Freestyle Relay
Three Oregon State swimmers are headed for Lafayette, Indiana this week to participate in the 2005 NCAA swimming and diving championships. The meet is at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center on the Purdue Campus. The meet starts Thursday and runs through Friday.
Oregon State is taking more swimmers to the NCAA's than ever before in the past. The three swimmers from the team have qualified for a total of six events. With a total of six events, there is a great chance to improve on last years final standing of 20th place overall.
Leading the Beavers into the post-season is senior All-American Mari Embertson. This will be her second consecutive appearance at the meet and she will be looking to improve on her seventh place performance from last year in the 400 individual medley. Currently, Embertson holds the 20th fastest time in the event this year, according to the College Quick 50. In addition to the 400 IM, Embertson will also be competing in the 200 individual medley.
Freshman Courtney Eads has hopes of swimming to All-American honors in all of the three events she qualified for in her first NCAA championship. Eads qualified for the 200 butterfly, 500 freestyle, and 200 freestyle. Eads holds the 22nd fasted performance in the 500 freestyle,perhaps her best event. She also holds the school record in the event.
Another freshman swimmer, Felicia Castenada, will be competing in the championship event this week. Castenada qualified in the 100 breaststroke in her first NCAA championship. Castenada's best performance in the breaststroke ranks her 36th in the College Quick 50.
The History
OREGON STATE ALL-TIME AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Oregon State's has four swimmers that have placed at the NCAA championship meet. Starting back in the 1994-95 season, Amy Von Loben Sels earned All-American honors twice in the 50 freestyle, placing eighth in 1994 and 10th in 1995. Next in line for the Beavers is Naya Higashijima who also received two All-American honors in her event. Higashijima placed 10th in the 200 butterfly in 2002 and then eighth in 2003. The Beaver's lone Olympian, Birte Steven, qualified and placed every year she competed for the Beavers. In 2001 she swam to 16th in the 200 breaststroke. In 2002 she improved to 11th in the 200 breaststroke and additionally placed 16th in the 100 breaststroke. In 2003, Steven finished sixth in the 200 breaststroke and 11th in the 100 breaststroke. To finish out her career, Steven placed second in the 200 breaststroke and third in the 100 breaststroke.
The last All-American, Mari Embertson, will be competing this week at the NCAA championships for her second consecutive season. Embertson last year placed seventh in the 400 individual medley. She will be competing this year in the 400 individual medley as well as the 200 individual medley.
Not so long ago
THE PACIFIC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS: Once again this year the Beavers finished the season strong by taking 7th overall at the Pac-10 Championships, but fell just short of attaining all their season goals. The Beavers didn't qualify a relay team for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships which will hurt their chances of breaking into the top- 15 nationally. On the positive side, three swimmers from OSU qualified for a total of six events at the NCAA's. Senior Mari Embertson, freshman Courtney Eads, and freshman Felicia Castenada will be representing Oregon State at the national level this week.
Senior All-American Mari Embertson finished in 6th place in the 400 individual medley, with a season best time of 4:18.09, and in 13th place in the 200 individual medley with another season best time of 2:02.01. Freshman Courtney Eads finished 9th in the 200 Butterfly with a time of 2:00.60 and 9th again in the 500 freestyle with a time of 1:50.09. The other NCAA representative from the team, freshman Felicia Castenada swam to two season bests in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Her time of 1:03.05 in the 100 breaststroke eventually qualified her for an NCAA bid in the event.
Other swimmers finishing the season on a high note were sophomores Erika Wirth and Sandy Hong. While neither swam to qualifying times at the Pac-10 Championships, they both placed high and have made good implications for the future. Wirth moved to 3rd all-time at Oregon State in the 50 freestyle when she finished 15th with a season best time of 23.52. Wirth also recorded season best times in the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle. Sandy Hong also finished the meet with three seaon best times. Most notably in the 1650 freestyle where she finished 12th and recorded a time of 16:51.08. That time moves Hong to 2nd all-time at OSU and places her behind Naya Higashijima. Hong also finished well in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle.
Overall Oregon State had a great meet that included two new school record times in relays and upwards of 10 individual season best times. In the scores, the Beavers reached their goal of getting 500 total points at the meet and they beat both Pacific NorthWest rivals Washington and Washington State.
