Nov. 29, 2006

Staten Island, NY-- With the US Open Championships kicking off Friday, Wagner College junior Jess Radka (Reading, PA/Holy Name) and Seahawks head swim coach Sean Raffile have ventured off Staten Island and made their way to West Lafayette, Indiana in preparation for the highly anticipated event. The meet which is being held at the Boilermaker Aquatics Center is hosted by Purdue University and boasts some of the top names in American swimming.

Radka qualified in both the 100 and 200 butterfly with the prelims for the 100 on Friday and the 200 prelims taking place on Saturday. If Radka is able to finish in the top 24 she will then advance to the next level. All tolled the meet will run from tomorrow November 30 through Saturday December 2.

"This is just a terrific opportunity for Jessica and for Wagner College to be competing against the top athletes in the United States," said Raffile. In addition to Radka, Seahawk freshman Jessica Hart (Summerfield, NC/Northwest) also qualified in the 100 fly, but will not be competing due to injury.

The Reading (PA) native is also joined at the meet by some familiar faces from the Northeast Conference as three other swimmers qualified. Gardner-Webb senior Terra Wilson (Potter Valley, CA/Deep Valley Christian), Central Connecticut State juniors Rachel Brookman (Rocky Hill, CT/Rocky Hill) and Lindsey Snyder (Winterport, ME/Bangor) round out the NEC contingent.

Junior Jess Radka has qualified for both the 100 and 200 butterfly at the US Open

Radka, a two-time all-NEC honoree and the 2004-05 NEC Co-Rookie of the Year, is the reigning conference champ in the 100 fly. Radka currently holds program records in both events she qualified for with marks of 56.86 in the 100 fly and 2:03.35 in the 200 fly. She will need her best efforts to match up with a field that can best be described as loaded. While the men's side carries household names such as Michael Phelps and Ian Crocker, the women are buoyed by big names such as Katie Hoff, Amanda Weir, and Kaitlin Sandeno.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to swim with Olympians and some of the premier swimmers in the country in this most prestigious meeting of aquatic athletes," said Radka.

The US Open is one of three domestic meets sanctioned by USA Swimming each year. Swimmers will compete in an Olympic-regulation size pool (50 meters) in the championship format meet.

As for the rest of the Wagner swim team they will be back in the pool on December 9 when they take on Columbia in New York City. This will be the Green & White's final meet of 2006.