CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams each remained in third place Friday after the second day of competition at the 2000 Nike Cup Invitational here in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“It was awesome,” said LSU head coach Jeff Cavana. “We had many of our swimmers set LSU top-five times today, and we gained some ground in the team competition as well. I’m extremely optimistic about this meet as well as this season after today’s events.”
The second day of competition at the 2000 Nike Cup Invitational included LSU top-five times recorded by Mandy Leach, Lindsey Mooney, Steve Gluck, and Evan Martinec.
Leach, the Lady Tigers’ talented junior from Harare, Zimbabwe, set her second top-five time of the season on Friday in the 100-yard butterfly competition. On Thursday she entered the LSU record books in the 200-yard individual medley event.
The Tigers’ freshman swimmer, Evan Martinec, moved into third-place all time on the LSU top-five list in the 100-yard backstroke competition. He became the second LSU freshman to reach the record books this week by recording a time of 49.26 in the event. Donna Leslie of the Lady Tigers set the top-five mark in the 500-freestyle on Thursday.
“We have some awesome freshman swimmers on our team this season,” Cavana said. “Evan and Donna are definitely very talented, as well as Ross Buffington, Chris Martinez, and Laura Jo Leininger. I’m excited about the way that our teams are looking for the future.”
The other LSU swimmers to enter the record books on Friday were senior Lindsey Mooney and junior Steve Gluck. Mooney made her mark in the 400-yard individual medley competition, while Gluck proceeded to set the second-best LSU time in the 100-yard breaststroke event.
The final day of competition at the 2000 Nike Cup Invitational will resume Saturday morning with the preliminary rounds beginning at 9 a.m. (Central time). The final rounds of each event will start at 5 p.m.