Utah Men in Second at MWC Championships

Wednesday, February 18

Oklahoma City, Okla.

TBA

University of Utah

MWC Championships

2/18/2004 12:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving

Feb. 18, 2004

Results

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The University of Utah men's swimming and diving team sits in second-place at the 2004 Mountain West Conference Swimming and Diving Championships. The Ute men scored 109 points and are only one-point behind Brigham Young for the lead after day one. The Ute women are currently in sixth after the first day.

This marks the first time in the four seasons under Head Coach Michael Litzinger that the Utah men have been as high as second at any time during the conference championships. Utah got off to a strong start as divers Sterling Richards and Damion Brown finished second and fourth, respectively in the 1 meter dive. The Utes saw the 200 medley relay team of Andrew Cole, Evan Castro, Cody Rempfer and Jonathan Larsen finish third with a time of 1:30.38. In the final event of the day Matan Ratz, David Maasberg, Corey Kilpatrick and Eric Jorgensen propelled the 800 free relay team to a third-place finish, coming in at 6:45.82. "It was a great swimming performance tonight, but the diving vaulted us into second. It was an exciting first day," comments Litzinger.

On the women's side the Utes sit in sixth after day one with 62 points, the same place they stood last season at the championships. The 200 medley relay team of Leah Jensen, Tessa Greegor, Meghan Demchuk and Amy Barefield posted a time of 1:43.39, a new school record, to finish third. In the 800 free relay Kristen Kaiser, Marta Stepanczuk, Rachel Curci and Alison McInturff swam a time of 7:31.98, putting them in fourth. Utah started in a hole because they do not have any divers. "This was where we thought we'd be, because we only scored in two of three events. Now we hope to climb the ladder and make a run at BYU.

The Cougars lead in both men's and women's competition after the first day. BYU has 110 points in men's competition and 108 in women's. Utah trails the Cougars in men's action with 109 points, followed by Wyoming (99), Air Force (85) and UNLV (70). The Rams hold the No. 2 spot in the women's events with 99 points, followed by New Mexico (96), Wyoming (89), UNLV (77), Utah (62), Air Force (50) and San Diego State (46).

Day two events begin Thursday, Feb. 19, with preliminary events at 10 a.m. CST and finals competition at 6 p.m. The MWC Swimming & Diving Championships conclude Saturday, Feb. 21, following the 6 p.m. finals events and the announcement of the individual and team awards.