TCU
Utah (M&W)
Swimming and Diving splits home finale against Utah
1/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
Jan. 13, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas - All five seniors on the men's swimming team earned wins on Senior Day as the men (5-2, 2-2) rolled past Utah 160-123, while the women (9-4, 2-4) fell to the Utes 178-121.
"This was a great win for our guys," said TCU head coach Richard Sybesma. "Last season, Utah defeated us in the dual meet and conference meet, so this was a huge upset for us."
The TCU men's swimmers won all 14 events on the day, as seniors Guillermo Ramirez and Yousif Del Valle each won three events. Ramirez, a Cali, Colombia, native, swept the backstroke events, recording a time of 50.29 in the 100-back and a time of 1:50.25 in the 200-back. Ramirez notched his third win of the day in the 200-IM with a clocking of 1:53.29.
Yousif Del Valle recorded his first win of the afternoon in the 200-free, where the El Paso, Texas, native came from behind to capture the winning time of 1:41.55. Del Valle earned another win in the 100-free with a time of 46.96. Del Valle rounded out the day with his third win the 100-fly, finishing the event in a time of 50.96.
Seniors Alejandro Gomez and Aran Bean both earned two wins on the day as they swept their respective events. Gomez earned a sweep of the distance events as the Caracas, Venezuela, native won the 500-free (4:39.08) and 1000-free (9:36.35). Bean swept the breaststroke events, completing the 100-breast in a time of 57.93 and the 200-breast in a time of 2:06.12.
Other winners for the Frogs included George Gooch and Scott McCracken. Gooch, a senior from Humble, Texas, won the 200-fly in a time of 1:52.96, while McCracken took the top spot in the 50-free with a time of 21.16.
The men kicked off the meet with a win in the 200-medley relay, recording a time of 1:32.45. The winning team consisted of Jonathon Berrettini, Aran Bean, Guillermo Ramirez and Scott McCracken. The 200-free relay team of Scott McCracken, Jonathon Berrettini, Josh Bagby and Yousif Del Valle ended the afternoon with a victory, earning a time of 1:24.20.
R.J. Hesselberg, a sophomore diver from Saskatoon, Canada, took the top spot in the three-meter dive, recording a score of 331.58, which places fifth in the event in school history. Hesselberg placed second in the one-meter dive with a score of 266.55.
Maribeth Pottenger and Stephanie Futscher highlighted the afternoon for the TCU women. Pottenger earned a win in the 100-breast with a time of 1:06.42, while Futscher notched the win in the 200-fly with a time of 2:05.57.
"The Utah women have been the defending champions in the conference the last two years and I thought our girls fought hard against them," said Sybesma.
Cheryl Townsend and Jennifer Ferguson also recorded impressive performances, as both placed second in two events. Townsend, TCU's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Month, finished in second spot in the 200-back and 200-IM, while Ferguson was the runner-up in the one- and three-meter diving events.
In relay action, the top women's squad finished in second in both the 200-medley relay and the 200-free relay.
The TCU women will return to action on Jan. 19 in Albuquerque, N.M. when they face New Mexico.
Players Mentioned
