April 1, 2006

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Four University of Houston swimmers wrapped up their stay Saturday during the 2006 USA Swimming Spring Championships at the King County Aquatic Center.

Freshmen Sasha Schwendenwein, Lauren VanCleave and Andrea Pa'lmai and junior Szintia Szanto were the Cougars' first national qualifiers in about 15 years.

On Saturday, Szanto, Pa'lmai and VanCleave took part in the 200-meter individual medley. Szanto led the team with a 35th-place finish after posting a time of 2:23.84. Pa'lmai placed 59th with a time of 2:26.83, while VanCleave finished 81st with a clocking of 2:28.97.

VanCleave also finished 74th in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 28.35.

In their final event of the meet, the group combined to finish 13th nationally in the 400-meter medley relay with a time of 4:26.79.

On Friday, the four Cougar swimmers combined to finish 15th in the 400-meter freestyle relay with a time of 3:59.57.

VanCleave, a native of Humble, Texas, earned the school's best individual finish of the day, placing 19th in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:02.84.

Szanto competed in a pair of events. The Budapest, Hungary, native finished 35th in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:14.92 and placed 58th in the 100-meter butterfly with a clocking of 1:04.75.