Jan. 30, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In their final tune-up before next month’s SEC Swimming and Diving Championships, the Vanderbilt swimming and diving team will host Marshall in dual-meet action at 1 p.m. Saturday from the Centennial Sportsplex.
“At the start of the season when the team was establishing it goals, one of our main goals was to win our home meets,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “I think winning at home will help set a positive tone for the next couple of weeks and into the SEC Championships.”
The Commodores enter the meet against the Thundering Herd with 2-0 record at the friendly confines north of West End. Earlier in the fall, the `Dores posted a home sweep over Centre College (127-106) and Rhodes College (176-43). The signature wins marked the programs first wins in dual-meet action since the program started up again in the winter of 2006.
Vanderbilt is coming off a 152-115 loss to South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. on Jan. 18. Freshman diver Nicole Woodworth led VU against the Gamecocks with career-highs in the one and three-meter dives. The Seattle native’s one-meter mark of 288.53 broke former Vanderbilt All-American Patti Woodcock’s school-record of 269.60.
Woodworth also tied Woodcok’s 22-year old mark of 289.05 in the three-meter dive, good for second place. Both of Woodworth’s diving marks qualified for next month’s Zone Championships.
In the swimming events, the Commodores were led by the freshman trio of Allie Voss, Laura Dillon and Kelly Obranowicz.
Dillon continued her dominance in the 200-yard breaststroke against South Carolina, taking home top honors with a 2:28.44. The Reston, Va., native set the school record in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes in her first fall season at Vanderbilt.
Voss will look to follow up her first-place 100 breaststroke finish this weekend against Marshall after topping USC’s Sherah Aiken by 1/100th of a second in Columbia, S.C.
The meet between the `Dores and the Thundering Herd is free of charge and it’s open to the public.
Schedule of Events
200 Medley Relay
1000 Freestyle
200 Freestyle
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
50 Freestyle
One-Meter Diving
100 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
200 Breaststroke
500 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
Three-Meter Diving
200 Individual Medley
200 Freestyle Relay