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Lopus Representing Utah at NCAA National Swimming and Diving Championships
3/18/2009 12:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
March 18, 2009
THIS WEEK
Freshman Whitney Lopus (Scottsdale, Ariz.) will represent the University of Utah at the NCAA National Swimming and Diving Championships this week in College Station, Texas. Lopus will compete in the 100 and 200 fly as well as the 500 free.
SCHEDULE
Lopus will begin competition on Thursday in the 500 free in the second race of the day. She will race in the third event on Friday, the 100 fly. On Saturday, Lopus will compete in the 200 fly, which will be the fourth race on that day.
All preliminaries begin 11:00 am CST each day and the finals will be begin at 7:00 pm CST.
UTE NOTES
Lopus holds top-30 times in each of the events in which she is competing. She currently is tied for the 27th-best time in the 500 free at 4:42.47 and holds the 17th-best time in the 100 fly at 52.44 as well as the 11th-best time in the 200 fly at 1:55.52.
Lopus has had a stellar season, earning the Mountain West Conference individual championship in the 100 and 200 fly and setting new MWC records in both events. Lopus also set new MWC records in the 200 free with at time of 1:46.28 and the 500 free at 4:42.47. Lopus has been on record-setting relay teams for the Utes this season as well, helping set new Utah school records in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:31.91, the 400 free relay at 3:18.71, the 800 free relay at 7:13.62 and the 400 medley relay at 3:41.05.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Lopus will compete against fierce competition at the national meet. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native will face off against Elaine Breeden from Stanford and Jemma Lowe from Florida in the 200 fly. Both women hold the first and second-best times in the nation at 1:49.92 and 1:52.53, respectively. Lopus faced Lowe at the Princeton Invite last December where she took second to Lowe. Joining Lopus from the MWC conference is Zsuzsanna Jakabos from UNLV who qualified with a time of 1:56.33 and Rachel Grant from BYU, who was invited for time of 1:57.79.
Breeden also holds the best time in the 100 fly at 50.87 and Lowe is ranked eighth with a time of 51.65. Lopus will be joined in the event by Amanda Weinbrecht, who is ranked 39th with her time of 53.12. Lopus has defeated Weinbrecht the last two times the women have faced off.
In the 500 free, Lopus will face a very tough Georgia team. In the top 40 of ranked times in the event, swimmers from Georgia hold five spots including the first and second-best times. Lopus will also face familiar opponents in Alicia Aemisegger from Princeton and Laurabeth Guenther from Florida. Lopus competed against both at the Princeton Invitational and were both ranked in the top 10 nationally with times of 4:38.96 and 4:39.16, respectively.
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