Women's Swimming
Swimming and Diving Battles Nationally Ranked Razorbacks in Close Loss

Cougars post six event wins before falling to No. 19 Arkansas, 153-90

Junior Kim Eeson won two events against No. 19 Arkansas Friday evening.
 
Junior Kim Eeson won two events against No. 19 Arkansas Friday evening.
  
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Jan. 21, 2011

HOUSTON - The University of Houston swimming and diving team collected a pair of wins from swimmer Kim Eeson and diver Lacey Truelove to combat No. 19 Arkansas before taking the loss at Arkansas Natatorium, 153-90.

Houston (3-4) recorded wins in six of the 13 events against the Razorbacks (8-2, 2-1) Friday evening, including both diving competitions in the Cougars' first dual of the weekend. Eeson earned wins in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle, while Truelove took first in the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions.

Sophomore Kimmy Ballo, junior Beccy Hillis, senior Andrea Kells and Eeson combined for a third-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay. They posted the second fastest time of the season (3:53.62) to open the meet against the SEC power.

Freshmen Marissa Blumenthal, Leah Sanchez, Krystan Morrell and junior Natalie Newcomb teamed up to finish sixth (4:07.26).

After setting her personal best in the 1,000-yard freestyle against North Texas last weekend, freshman Laykin Lowry came up just shy of doing so again on Friday. Her time of 10:19.09 was good for fifth place. Fellow freshmen Heather Winn (10:24.37) and Emma Nelson (10:58.43) finished close behind her in sixth and seventh, respectively.

Eeson posted the Cougars first win of the evening in the next event. The junior swam the 200-yard freestyle in 1:50.47 to edge out Arkansas' Chelsea Franklin by less than half a second. Freshman Colleen Donovan came in sixth (1:57.55) and Ballo was right behind in seventh (1:59.85).

Sophomore Moira Fraser clocked in just three-tenths of a second shy of first place in the 50-yard freestyle (24.69). Morrell came in fourth (25.25). Sophomore Holli Pisarski and Blumenthal took sixth and eighth place in the event.

Houston got its next win from sophomore Reka Kovacs, who missed her personal best by exactly one second in the 200-yard IM (2:03.42). Hillis followed in fifth (2:07.85) and also scored for the Cougars.

Truelove made it two in a row when she won the 1-meter competition, capturing nine more points for Houston. The senior All-American broke her career best in the event against UNT on Saturday, and posted another brilliant effort against Arkansas. Her NCAA `A' mark of 293.70 edged Razorback freshman Kesha Naylor by less than two-tenths of a point. Sophomore Julia Lonnegren made the event even tighter with her NCAA `A' score of 291.00 to finish in third.

Kovacs and Kells each scored in the 200-yard butterfly. Kovacs came in third with a personal best time of 2:03.60 and the Cougars fastest time of the season. Kells' time of 2:07.85 put her in fifth. Lowry and Newcomb kept it close with times of 2:08.72 and 2:10.84, respectively.

Swimming the ninth-best performance in program history, Eeson won her second event with a time of 50.98 in the 100-yard freestyle. Fraser (53.65) and Donovan (54.54) also scored for Houston. Donovan's fifth-place finish was due to her setting a new personal best in the event.

Still fighting, Ballo (2:10.40) and Blumenthal (2:14.74) chalked up points for Houston in the 200-yard backstroke, while Winn (5:05.45) and Nelson did the same in the 500-yard freestyle. Nelson's time of 5:22.15 was also a career best. The Cougars won two of the final three events, putting pressure on the Razorbacks with victories from Truelove and Hillis.

Truelove and Lonnegren went first-second in 3-meter action. Each hit NCAA `A' qualifying standards as Truelove took first (324.68) and Lonnegren finished in second (312.00).

Hillis followed their performance by swimming the season's fastest 200-yard breaststroke time. She tapped in at 2:16.90, just seven-tenths of a second shy of the NCAA 'B' mark, to claim first place. Pisarski notched another point (2:30.01) and Sanchez was right behind her (2:31.57).

Despite the effort, the meet belonged to Arkansas before the Razorbacks' won the 400-yard freestyle relay in the final event of the evening. Nevertheless, the Cougars still got a good swim out of Kells, Winn, Kovacs and Fraser, who took third with a time of 3:36.41.

Houston faces a short night as the Cougars head to Little Rock to face UALR at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Donaghey Center Natatorium.

 

 

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