HOUSTON, Texas — LSU swimmer Mary Beck shattered a 14-year-old school record in the 200-yard individual medley, and Craig Hamilton and Jane Trepp each posted NCAA provisional qualifying times to spearhead the men’s and women’s teams during the first session of the Cougar Classic Fall Invitational Friday.
Beck swam to a runner-up finish in the 200 I.M. with a career best and NCAA ?B’ cut time of 1 minute, 58.74 seconds to claim former Lady Tiger great Lucy Findlay’s program mark. Hamilton also delivered a runner-up finish with a personal best and provisional mark of 4:26.64 in the 500 free, fourth-best in school history, while Trepp recorded a provisional cut of 22.95 in the 50 free to take fourth.
Following the opening-day action, the 15th-ranked LSU men’s team jumped out to a sizable lead over UNLV, SMU and Incarnate Word, while the 21st-ranked Lady Tigers currently sit third in the women’s standings.
Juniors Clint Hallum and Hannes Heyl also enjoyed fine efforts with season bests to help the Tigers’ cause. Hallum captured second in the 200 I.M. with a 1:50.91 clocking, tied for seventh all-time at LSU, and placed sixth in the 500 free (4:35.94). Heyl registered a runner-up finish in the 50 free with a time of 20.38.
Men’s divers Brian Gemberling and Matt Vieke gave the Tigers a boost with top-three finishes in the one-meter. Gemberling tallied 304.50 points to notch second, while Vieke scored 302.55 points to post a third-place finish. Lady Tiger diver Elle Schmidt finished seventh in the women’s three-meter with a 271.10 score.
In addition, junior Luis Gonzalez, senior Sean LeNeave and freshmen Andrei Tuomola and Samantha Goates reached ?A’ finals on Day 1. Gonzalez took fourth and sixth in the 500 free (4:33.65) and 200 I.M. (1:53.91), respectively, while LeNeave secured seventh in both the 200 I.M. and 50 free.
Tuomola touched the wall in 20.84 in the 50 free to finish sixth, and Goates placed eighth in the women’s 50 free (23.95).
In relay competition, the men’s and women’s 200 free relays came away with top-three finishes. The men’s group of Tuomola, LeNeave, Heyl and Reijo Hyvenen seized second-place with a time of 1:21.99, while the Lady Tigers’ foursome of Trepp, Goates, Beck and Amanda Kendall placed third (1:33.06).
Day 2 of the Cougar Classic Fall Invitational will begin Saturday at 10 a.m. (CST). Live results will be available at www.LSUsports.net.
Cougar Classic Fall Invitational
Nov. 20-22 ? Houston, Texas
Current Men’s Standings
1. LSU ? 365
2. UNLV ? 259
3. SMU ? 224
4. Incarnate Word ? 137
Current Women’s Standings
1. Texas A&M ? 464
2. SMU ? 221
3. LSU ? 183
4. Houston ? 144
5. Tulane ? 49
6. Air Force ? 38
7. Incarnate Word ? 37
8. Kansas ? 28
9. UNLV ? 14
Schedule of Events
Saturday, Nov. 21
200-yard Medley Relay
400-yard Individual Medley
100-yard Butterfly
200-yard Freestyle
100-yard Breaststroke
100-yard Backstroke
Springboard Diving
800-yard Freestyle Relay
Sunday, Nov. 22
1650-yard Freestyle
200-yard Backstroke
100-yard Freestyle
200-yard Breaststroke
200-yard Butterfly
Platform Diving
400-yard Freestyle Relay
*The prelims will begin each day at 10 a.m. (CST), while the finals will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.