Tigers Take Second and Third at Nike Cup

Nov. 17, 2007

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams concluded action at the Nike Cup Invitational on Saturday night, with the men placing second with 806.5 points and the women coming in third with 655 team points.

The men improved their standing from last season when they finished third, while the women held their spot at in third. On the men’s side, Virginia Tech had 964.5 points to win, while North Carolina won the women’s side with 1057 points.

Freshman Sarah Smith qualified for NCAA competition in her second event as she notched a 16:49.28 in the 1650 free, taking sixth place. Smith’s time was also the 10th best in Clemson history. Mandy Snell took tenth, while Cassy LaRussa placed 13th to pick up points for the Tigers.

Freshman David Gordon also had a strong showing, posting a 15:37.10 in the 1650, placing third. His time was the eighth best in Clemson history. Gordon also placed an impressive fourth in the 200 fly, posting a 1:50.69.

Junior Michelle Parkhurst had a great start to the night, finishing first in the 200 back with an NCAA-B time of 1:57.99. Parkhurst came within half a second of breaking her own school record. In the 200 back on the men’s side, Thomas Recko placed fourth at 1:49.02. Taylor Thompson and Jason Chatlosh were also top-12 finishers.

Rachel Regone put in an NCAA-B time of 50.25 in the 100 free during prelims. She ended up taking second in the night session with a 50.18, a career best, and fourth in Clemson history.

In the men’s 100 free, senior Adam Farnham put in a 45.39 to place fifth. Stephen Russell tied for sixth in the event as well, with Matt Balderston also picking up points. Andy Bergren, Attila Ruszka, and Eric Lane combined to place 4th , 5th, and 7th ,respectively, in the 200 breast.

Freshman Margaret Mizelle put up the seventh best time in Clemson history in the 200 butterfly when she swam a 2:02.88 in the finals to place fifth.

Divers Danielle Kazilionis and Stephanie Fura placed third and fourth in the three-meter diving event. For the men, David Giambra finished third with a 341.20, while Marco Raye took eighth with a 279.80.

In the final event of the night, the 400 free relay, the group of Regone, Lauren Sindall, Alexandra Allen, and Parkhurst placed second with an NCAA-B 3:23.83. This group also had a B-cut in Friday’s action in the 200 free relay. The men’s group placed fourth in the 400 free relay.

The Tigers will be off until a Jan. 2 showdown with Florida Atlantic. Currently, the men sit at 6-1 (3-1 ACC), while the women are 2-5 (1-3 ACC).