AUSTIN, Texas — The LSU swimming and diving team competed at the 2002 Texas Bevo Invitational at the Lee and Joe Jamail Swimming center in Austin, Texas on Saturday evening.
Six men’s and women’s squads competed at the “last-chance meet”, including host Texas, Kansas, Houston, TCU, Trinity, and LSU. The meet consisted of 18 events and served as an opportunity for teams to qualify more athletes for the upcoming NCAA Championships this month. Texas will host the 2002 NCAA Division 1 swimming and diving championships at the Jamial Center on March 21-23.
Saturday was a successful day for several LSU athletes. Sophomore Stephanie Smith swam the 1650-freestyle in a time of 16:31.27, breaking a 21-year old school record previously held by Mary Jo Dressman, who swam the 1650 in 16:34.34 in 1981. Smith’s previous best time this season in the event was 16:37.15 at the Nike Cup Invitational last November. Smith made the “B” Cut for the NCAA Championships in the event as well.
Steve Gluck made the NCAA “B” Cut of the 2001 Qualifying Standards by swimming the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 54.43. LSU made 13 “B” Cuts and two “A” Cuts at the SEC Championships last week at Fayetteville, Ark.
“Today was a really good day because we picked up some more qualifying marks and just had a real solid performance,” said LSU assistant swimming coach Lars Jorgensen. “Stephanie (Smith) really swam well in the 1650, that is just incredible for her. She has worked real hard this year after having that bad injury.
Smith missed last season while she rehabilitated her neck, and was also forced to redshirt in the 1999-2000 season after originally injuring her neck.
Next up for the team is the Auburn Invitational on March 8-9 at Auburn, Ala. The men’s NCAA Championships will be held on March 28-30 at Athens, Ga.