Jan. 17, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

IRVING, Texas - SMU diver Britney Yancey took first in the three-meter board against No. 1 Auburn and No. 6 Texas A&M Saturday, highlighting several strong performances by the No. 12 Mustangs in College Station.

SWIMMER OF THE WEEK (1/15)
PAM ZELNICK - Rice
So., Troy, Ohio (Troy)
Zelnick won the 100-yard breaststroke in a non-conference dual meet against No. 6 Texas A&M Friday afternoon at Rice. Zelnick posted a winning time of 1:07.08 to top six competitors. She also was third in the 100-freestyle and competed on both the 200-free and 200-medley relays for Rice that claimed second and third place, respectively. The weekly award is the first of Zelnick's career.

DIVER OF THE WEEK (1/15)
BRITNEY YANCEY - SMU
So., Dallas, Texas (Indiana)
Yancey won the three-meter board against No. 1 Auburn and No. 6 Texas A&M this past weekend, tallying 288.90 for her six dives. Her next nearest competitor was over 17 points behind her, as Yancey ran away with the event. In addition, she took fourth in the one-meter board, scoring 214.00, putting her ahead of Texas A&M's Courtney Brown. This is Yancey's first career weekly honor.

2007-08 WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
O9	S- Angela San Juan Cisneros, SMU
O16	S- Brittany Massengale, Rice
O23	S- Amanda Duncan, East Carolina
	D- Christie Icenhower, East Carolina
O29	S- Anja Carman, SMU
	D- Audra Egenolf, SMU
N6	S- Sasha Schwendenwein, Houston
	D- Courtney Forcucci, Houston
N13	S- Michaela Sceli, Marshall
	D- Siobahn Schuurman, Marshall
N20	S- Jennifer Blackman, SMU
	D- Christie Icenhower, East Carolina
D4	S- Jennifer Blackman, SMU
	D- Lacey Truelove, Houston
J9	S- Petra Klosova, SMU
	D- Audra Egenolf, SMU
J15	S- Pam Zelnick, Rice
	D- Britney Yancey, SMU

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Conference USA will name a Swimmer and Diver of the Week throughout the regular season. The Athlete of the Week awards are selected by the media relations department and announced every Tuesday throughout the season.

2007-08 C-USA TOP TIMES
For a list of the top C-USA Women's Swimming and Diving times/scores, please go to: https://secure.sportssystems.com/ScoreReporting/cusa/sportID/1/g/w

2008 C-USA SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2008 C-USA Women's Swimming & Diving Championship and Men's Invitational is slated for February 27-March 1 in Houston, Texas. The four-day event will be hosted by Houston at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium. All five C-USA women's swimming and diving programs will participate in the championship, while East Carolina, SMU and Hawai'i will participate in the men's invitational.

EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina senior diver Christie Icenhower placed ninth on the three-meter diving board on the final day of competition at the Georgia Diving Invitational.

Icenhower tallied a score of 252.20 in the three-meter finals. She also participated in the one-meter diving competition posting a score of 187.70, but didn't qualify for the finals.

Freshman Bekah Juarez also competed in the two-day event. She tallied a score of 129.25 on the three-meter board and 120.25 on the one-meter board, but fell short of reaching the finals in both events.

East Carolina returns to dual meet competition against UMBC on January 19. The Pirates host their next dual meet at Minges Natatorium on January 26 against Duke.

HOUSTON
Houston capped its winter training with an impressive sweep of Stony Brook, Puget Sound and St. Cloud State on Wednesday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Center.

Competing in a variety of relay events only, the Cougars, who improved to 8-3 overall this season in dual meets, enjoyed 41-13 wins over both Stony Brook and Puget Sound and a 28-26 thriller over St. Cloud State.

The Cougars finished first or second in five of the six events in which they competed to take the wins.

The team of Andrea Pa'lmai, Doreen Polotzek, Andrea Kells and Sasha Schwendenwein started the meet on a high note, winning the 400-yard medley relay event with a time of 4:04.44, nearly six seconds faster than its closest competitor.

The team of Schwendenwein, Pa'lmai and freshman Paige Bissett claimed top honors in the 150-yard backstroke with a clocking of 1:23.91, nearly five seconds ahead of the closest competition. Then, Schwendenwein, Pa'lmai, Bissett and freshman Brittany Copeland finished first in the 500-yard freestyle relay with a time of 4:42.69, more than nine seconds ahead of their closest competitor.

Schwendwein was a member of three first-place teams, while Pa'lmai and Bissett were a part of two winning teams.

The Cougars return to action during the weekend of Jan. 18-19 with a trip to the Dallas area. The weekend starts at 4 p.m., Jan. 18 when the Cougars face North Texas in Denton. From there, the team wraps up its stay in North Texas at 1 p.m., Jan. 19, at No. 12 SMU.

MARSHALL
Strong performances by Akron in the 100-yard butterfly and 50-yard freestyle helped the Zips to push past Marshall on senior day at the Frederick A. Fitch Natatorium, 174-126.

Marshall took and early lead with wins in the 1000 and 200 freestyle events. Sophomore Jenny Johnnson took first-place in the 1000 with a time of 10:38.35 and freshman Jenae Moreno won the 200 in 1:58.47.

Senor Michaela Sceli once again swept the 100 and 200 breaststroke events with times of 1:05.22 and 2:21.88. Siobhan Schuurman led Marshall's diving group with second and third-place finishes in the one and three-meter events respectively. Nine Marshall seniors were honored at the final home event of their collegiate careers. Former diver Casey Mulholland was honored by M Club during the meet as a distinguished athletic alumni. The Herd will return to action on Jan. 22 on the road against the Ohio Bobcats.

RICE
Sophomore Pam Zelnick's victory in the 100-yard breaststroke Rice's lone win of the day as the Owls dropped a dual meet to sixth-ranked Texas A&M by the score of 159-95 Friday afternoon at the Rice Pool.

Texas A&M showed why it is one of the Top 10 teams in the country by winning 13 of meet's the 14 events. Ten different Aggies won 11 individual events.

Rice suffered only its second defeat to move its meet record to 7-2. The non-conference clash was the Owls' first official meet since before Thanksgiving. The team had only one non-scored exhibition during its winter training period after the University's final exams wrapped-up in December.

Zelnick took an early lead at the halfway point of the 100-breaststroke and hung on to win the race with a time of 1:07.08. Seven Rice swimmers notched second-place finishes on the day, and Rice head coach Seth Huston pointed to five different Owls who recorded a total of six of their new best times.

The Blue and Gray will next face No. 12 SMU on the road in Dallas on Janusary 18 and then compete against the University of North Texas the following day in Denton.

SMU
SMU diver Britney Yancey took first in the three-meter board against No. 1 Auburn and No. 6 Texas A&M Saturday, highlighting several strong performances by the No. 12 Mustangs in College Station.

Yancey beat two Aggie divers and a diver from Auburn to take first in the competition. Her score of 288.90 was over 17 points higher than the second-place finisher's. Freshman Audra Egenolf earned second in the one-meter board, totaling 242.95. Egenolf was less than six points behind the first-place competitor.

The swimmers finished in the top five in eight events. Both relays finished fourth, with the 200 medley relay squad of Anja Carman, Devon Callaghan, Angela San Juan Cisneros and Petra Klosova completing the course in 1:44.45, just over three seconds behind the first-place finishers. The 400 free relay team of Candace Blackman, Jennifer Blackman, Klosova and San Juan Cisneros touched in at 3:22.89.

C. Blackman took third in the 200 free, stopping the clock in 1:48.28. J. Blackman finished fifth in the same event, clocking a time of 1:49.39. Klosova swam the 100 back in 56.56, good for fifth place. Callaghan earned fourth in the 100 breast, touching in at 1:04.66. C. Blackman finished the 50 free in 23.46, taking fourth in the event.

After the diving break, Klosova swam the 100 free in 50.49, earning her a third-place finish, while C. Blackman came in at 50.81, good for fifth. Carman took fifth in the 200 back, stopping the clock at 1:59.72. Jennifer Basel continued the streak, placing fifth in the 200 breast in 2:21.76. J. Blackman earned a fifth-place finish in the 500 free, touching in at 4:52.87.

SMU lost to top-ranked Auburn, 218-72 and to No. 6 Texas A&M, 211-84.

The Mustangs are back in action next Friday, Jan. 18 and Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Perkins Natatorium as they host C-USA rivals Rice and Houston, respectively.