UH Moves to 4th Place at C-USA Swim/Dive Championships

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (February 28, 2009) Freshman diver Courtney Forcucci scored 314.80 points to finish second on the 3-meter springboard and help lead the University of Houston swimming and diving team to a 4th place finish after day two of the 2008 Conference USA Championship at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium.

Forcucci lead the Cougar divers that earned three places out of the top five places in the event. Senior captain Ginni van Katwijk finished fourth with 300.85 points, while freshman Lacey Truelove placed fifth with 286.60 points.

The Cougar's 400-yard medley relay made it to the medal stand, taking the bronze medal in the event. The team was made up of sophomore backstroker Jessica Shamburger, junior breaststroker Andrea Pa’lmai, freshman butterflier Andrea Kells and junior freestyler Sasha Schwendenwein finished with the time of 3:51.74.

In the team standings, the Cougars improved to fourth place after Thursday evening's finals with 116 points. Defending champion SMU led the team standings with 323 points, while Rice was in second with 213 points. East Carolina (178) stood in third with Marshall (116) placing fifth.

The meet continues at 10 a.m., Friday with the preliminaries of the 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard backstroke. Preliminaries for the women’s 1-meter diving and men’s 3-meter diving are slated to begin around 1 p.m. with the finals of all the day’s events starting at 6 p.m.