Swim Cats break records

Special to
the Colonnade

    GCSU Swim Cats returned home with four new team records from Georgia Tech’s East Coast Championships March 28 through 30.
    The East Coast Invitational was the Swim Cats’ largest meet of the year.
    With participation totaling 215 swimmers, competition for top team places and individual results was a real challenge. With a preliminary and finals meet format, the Swim Cats had to place in the top 16 in individual events to compete again at finals.
     “Swimming at ECC was a remarkable experience,” said Brenna Cleary, Swim Cats secretary. “Making it back to finals this year proved to be very challenging, but we had three swimmers who consistently made it back even broke team records in the 500 and 100 free, 200 and 100 back.”
      The Swim Cats placed ninth with only five girls and three men competing.
    Teams in attendance were Indiana University, Wake Forest, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, College of Charleston, Clemson, the University of Tennessee, the University of Florida and Georgia Southern University.
    “Setting a new men’s record in the 500 freestyle was an incredible feeling,” Taylor Hayes said. “Getting out of the pool and realizing I had broken our teams record by eleven seconds was so gratifying after training all year.”
    Other team records were broken by Mimo Scholz (100 and 200 back) and Blaire Bachman (100 free).
    “I have been waiting for a break through in my events (100 and 200 free) and they could not have come at a better time,” said Mimo Scholz, the team’s vice president. “ Afterwards I called up our last president who held the backstroke records and let her know – she was thrilled.”
   Members that swam for the Swim Cats were Sarah Gallagher, Scholz, Cleary, Bachman, Andrea Mahoney, Jack Webber, Hayes and John Goose.
   “Swimming in this meet was a proud moment for me,” Bachman, the Swim Cats’ president, said. “I have been able to see our team grow as athletes this year and step up and compete at the highest level available to us as a club team and everyone did an excellent job.”
     The Swim Cats have two weeks before their final meet of the season at Georgia Southern University on April 19.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 4 2008. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry