Swimming and Diving Embarks on Final Dual of the Season

Cougars to make appearance at Hofheinz Pavilion Saturday

HOUSTON, TEXAS (February 6, 2009) The University of Houston swimming and diving team is preparing for its final dual of the 2009 season on Feb. 11 in the Sprint for the Cure Dual against Texas at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.

The Cougars (14-5) will host the Longhorns for the first time since 2004, with the last competition between the two schools coming in 2005 in Austin. UH has never defeated Texas in a swimming dual.

The dual against Texas also will give the Cougars a chance to reach out to the community, as they will be accepting donations at the door that will go to cancer research and fans are encouraged to wear pink.

In preparation for the dual, the Cougars will attend the Houston men’s basketball game against Rice on Feb. 7 to sign autographs for fans from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Houston was last in the pool on Jan. 30-31 at the LSU Invitational where the Cougars finished 1-3. Junior Anastasia Pozdniakova continued her dominance on the diving board winning her eighth-consecutive 1-meter and 3-meter competition this season on the way to her seventh conference diver of the week honor this season.

In addition, Houston took home six individual wins in the swimming events. Senior Sasha Schwendenwein took first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.35 and senior Andrea Pa'lmai captured the first-place spot in the 1,000-yard freestyle, finishing with a time of 10:12.79.

Junior Jessica Shamburger took top honors in the 100-yard backstroke (56.63) and freshman Beccy Hillis captured Houston's fourth first-place win in the 200-yard breaststroke with a personal-best time of 2:17.98. Schwendenwein took home two more wins in the 100-yard butterfly (55.96) and the 200-yard butterfly (2:01.57).

Following the dual against the Longhorns, the Cougars will begin preparations for the 2009 Conference USA Swimming and Diving Championships on Feb. 25-28 at the CRWC Natatorium.