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AU Swimming and Diving Prepares for Patriot League Championship
Eagles are lead by eight strong seniors

Feb. 20, 2004

Senior Ethan Bassett will look to lead the men's swimming and diving team to a Patriot League Championship on Feb. 26-28.

WASHINGTON – Led by eight strong seniors, the American University men’s and women’s swimming and diving team will travel to Lejeune Hall, on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy, to compete for the Patriot League Championship, Feb. 26-28.

American has high hopes for the conference meet after defeating 2002-03 Patriot League Champions Bucknell in the dual meet season and defeating Navy in the swimming portion earlier this year.

“I am expecting the men to do very well in the championship meet,” said nine-year veteran Head Swimming Coach Mark Davin. “We have four seniors that are very strong and we have talented swimmers in the other classes. The combination of the experience and training that we have put in should help us do very well.”

Leading the Eagle on the men’s side is 13-time conference champion and All-American Dominick Szabo (North Wales, Pa./North Penn). Szabo, who is currently undefeated in the 100 breaststroke, broke five pool records in breaststroke events this season, including the Naval Academy’s eight-year-old pool record in the 100 breaststroke. Having already qualified for the Olympic Trials in July, Szabo will enter the conference meet with the fastest seed time in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke, and look to make his NCAA “A” time which will automatically earn him a berth to the meet.

Also dominating in the pool for the Eagles will be national qualifier and 12-time conference champion Ethan Bassett. Bassett will enter the conference meet with the fastest regular season times in the 1000 free, 1650 free and 400 IM. and the second fastest times in the 500 free, 200 IM and both the breaststrokes. Coming off an undefeated dual meet season in the 1650 free, Bassett will join Szabo after the Patriot League championships and continue his training for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

“Regardless of training for trials, both Dominick and Ethan will be resting for the conference meet to ensure that they have the opportunity to make their ‘A’ cuts,” said Davin. “We also want to make sure that they have every chance to close out their collegiate swimming career with a conference title.”

Rounding out the men’s squad will be seniors Erwan Jeffory and Steve Maher, who have both made tremendous impacts on the team. After taking home the conference title in the 500 freestlye last year and a PL championship meet record, Jeffroy will look to repeat his outstanding conference performance again in his final year, swimming in the backstroke and mid-distance freestyle events. Maher, always one of the strongest freestylers in the conference, will look to earn his own conference titles in his final year, as well as continuing to be a dominating presence on the Eagles relays.

In his first Patriot League conference appearance, five-time French National Champion Valery Fomenko will contribute to the Eagles’ quest for the conference title with strong swims in the backstroke and butterfly events. With in-season times in four events that place him among the top five swimmers in the league, Fomenko will be a key figure for the Eagles in the conference meet.

On the women’s side, transfer Cami Miller and senior captain Jessica Lidstrom will be lead the team in the freestyle events, while sophomore Christina Huang will look to top off her exceptional season with a strong conference meet.

Miller’s in-season time in the distance freestyle events puts her in the running for the conference title.

“Cami trained very well this fall and has swam several lifetime in-season bests. She had a great Christmas training trip and we have been very pleased with the way she has embraced our training,” said Davin. “She is a great racer and has a lot of experience and it will benefit her well at this meet.”

In her final meet as a season, Lidstrom will attempt to add to her seven conference titles in the sprint and mid-distance freestyles, while Huang look to continue to drop time in all of her events. Over the course of the season, Huang has shaved off over 16 seconds in the individual medley events.

“Christina is more mentally prepared for this meet then she was last year,” said Davin. “With the combination of her mental and physical preparation, she has the capability to swim life-time bests and bring home some points for the team.”

Also looking to put up points for the Eagles in their final collegiate competition will be women’s co-captain Lian Tay along with divers Melissa Ferrara and Stephanie Fletcher. Tay will compete in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly races while Ferrara and Fletcher will compete in both the one and three meter diving competitions.

The Eagle’s conference meet will take place on Feb. 26-28 at Lejune Hall on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy. For more information on the meet, including directions, ticket prices and times, please visit:
http://www.navysports.com/sports/wswimming/championship