ATHENS, Ga, March 20, 2008 - The Georgia women’s swimming and diving team will wrap up the 2008 campaign this week at the NCAA Championship in Columbus, Ohio.
The Lady Bulldogs will have 17 student-athletes participating in the event, which will take place Thursday through Saturday at Ohio State’s McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. Live results can be found at ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Prelims will be at 11 a.m. and finals will be at 7 p.m. each day.
“It’s been an amazing year,” Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle said. “This team doesn’t look as spectacular as teams in the past, but this team can come at you in waves. This team has been tough all year, and I expect us to fight and battle for every point at the NCAAs.”
The Lady Bulldogs are bringing a young squad to the national event. Of the 17 student-athletes making the trip, seven are freshmen and three are sophomores. Eight of the swimmers and divers will be competing at the NCAAs for the first time. Georgia also has three juniors and four seniors.
“We knew coming into the year that we had a talented group of freshmen,” Bauerle said. “But that¹s what they were freshmen. As the year has gone on, they have grown up, toughened up and given us a tremendous boost.”
This will be Georgia¹s 26th consecutive appearance in the NCAAs. The Lady Bulldogs have finished in the top five each of the last 12 years, including first-place efforts in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005.
“We have lofty goals for the NCAAs,” senior co-captain Anna Miller said. ‘We always believe we can win it. We always believe that we¹ve got a chance. This team has a lot of talent, and I think we can surprise some people. I can¹t wait to see us compete.”
Senior Elizabeth Hill was a member of the NCAA-winning 800-yard freestyle relay in 2005. Junior Jessica Cole earned an NCAA gold medal on the 2006 800-yard freestyle relay.
Source: Georgia
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