Cincinnati's women's team captured the inaugural C-USA Swimming and Diving Championship, while TCU men earned first place at the C-USA Invitational on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at the IU Natatorium.

INDIANAPOLIS – Cincinnati captured the inaugural C-USA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship, while TCU men earned first place at the C-USA Men’s Invitational on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at the IU Natatorium. The Cincinnati women's team captured their first C-USA title after posting a team score of 767. Rounding out the final six spots were East Carolina (708), TCU (676), Houston (570), Louisville (360) and Saint Louis (286).

For the men, TCU won the C-USA Men's Invitational with a final score of 956.5, followed by East Carolina (763), Cincinnati (623.5), Louisville (391) and Saint Louis (286).

The Bearcats, who had fallen behind East Carolina after the second day of competition, returned in the final session with Maria Oberg winning the first event of the night in the 1,650 freestyle. She posted a time of 16:26.62 for first place, while Cincinnati’s Shauna Conrad nabbed second with a time of 17:02.73.

Marien de Jong continued Cincinnati’s dominance in the individual events, capturing the 100 freestyle with a NCAA provisional time of 50.67. East Carolina’s Courtney Foster touched second (51.04), while UC’s Nelly Jorgensen earned third place with a time of 51.33. Louise Gowens also won the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:02.99.

In the second event of the night, TCU’s Jamie MacCurdy captured the 200 backstroke title with a C-USA record time of 2:01.23, while teammate Erin Irons finished second (2:01.67). The Frogs also claimed the top three spots in the 200 breaststroke. Jamie Robinson won the event with a time of 2:19.75, while teammates’ Melissa Powell (2:21.45) and Marisa Schenke (2:22.81) finished in second and third, respectively. The TCU team of Irons, MacCurdy, Lisa Champ and Aimee Moreau were victorious in the 400 freestyle relay to end the final night of the C-USA Championship.

Houston’s Yulia Pakhalina, the reigning NCAA Champion in the one-meter and three-meter diving events, swept the championship diving events. After earning both springboard events, Pakhalina won the 10-meter platform with a score of 371.05. She has now won 34 straight diving events in her two-year career.

On the men’s side, TCU claimed the team title after winning four of the seven final events. Aaron Ewert claimed the Frogs’ first victory of the night in the 200 backstroke (1:49.47). TCU’s Craig Chapman touched second with a time of 1:50.26, while ECU’s Will Powell earned third-place honors.

TCU’s Jeff Parkinson, who had finished second in Monday’s 200 freestyle final, won the 100 freestyle with a time of 46.06. Scott Adkins followed Parkinson’s win with a victory in the 200 breaststroke (2:02.36). Cincinnati’s Stuart Willison placed second with a time of 2:05.43.

The Frogs ended the invitational with the team of Dana Kizer, Ewert, McLachlan and Parkinson claiming the 400 freestyle relay (3:02.27).
Cincinnati’ Ryan McNally won the 200 butterfly with a provisional time of 1:48.60. UC’s Scott Davison also won the 1,650 freestyle event with a time of 15.16.13.

For the awards, Cincinnati’s head coach Monty Hopkins earned C-USA Coach of the Year honors, while UC’s Maria Oberg won the leagues’ Swimmer of the Meet and Swimmer of the Year accolades. East Carolina’s Diane Parker won C-USA Freshman Swimmer of the Year and Houston’s Lindsay Harvey captured Freshman Diver of the Year. Houston’s head diving coach Jane Figueiredo earned C-USA Diving Coach of the Year and the Cougars’ Yulia Pakhalina won the Diver of the Meet and Diver of the Year accolades. On the men’s side, Louisville’s Sean Wilkinson captured C-USA Invitational Diver of the Meet and Cincinnati’s Ryan McNally won Swimmer of the Meet honors.

2002 C-USA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships and C-USA Men’s Invitational
Women’s Team Scores: 1. Cincinnati (767); 2. East Carolina (708); 3. TCU (676); 4. Houston (570); 5. Louisville (360); 6. Saint Louis (286).
Men’s Team Scores: 1. TCU (956.5); 2. East Carolina (763); 3. Cincinnati (623.5); 4. Louisville (391); 5. Saint Louis (286).