AUSTIN, Texas — The LSU men’s swimming and diving team completed the first day of competition at the 2003 NCAA Division I Championships on Thursday at the Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center in Austin with a flourish, as the Tigers broke the school record in the 400-yard medley relay, the final event of the night.
The Tigers’ team of Evan Martinec, Francisco Paez, Mike Jotautas, and Matthew Rucker teamed to break the school record in the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:13.58 to finish ninth in the consolation final. Host Texas won the 400 with an NCAA-record time of 3:04.47.
“All five guys did a great job here today and we are really off to a good start,” said LSU head coach Jeff Cavana. “Breaking the school record in the 400 was great and Evan (Martinec) led off with a time of 47.22 which is awesome.”
All five LSU athletes competed on the competitions’ first day, as preliminaries and finals were held in six events. The meet began with the 200-yard freestyle relay and LSU’s team of Evan Martinec, Mike Jotautas, Matthew Rucker, and Francisco Paez finished 17th in the preliminaries with a time of 1:21.05. Stanford won the event with a time of 1:17.03.
USC senior Erik Vendt won the day’s second event, the 500-yard freestyle, with a time of 4:13.63, while Auburn freshman George Bovell won the 200-yard individual medley in an NCAA-record time of 1:42.66. Nate Dusing of Texas held the previous NCAA record of 1:42.85 set in 2001. LSU did not have anyone compete in the 500 free or 200 IM.
Rucker and Paez, each making their NCAA debut, placed 43rd and 44th in the prelims of the 50-yard freestyle. Rucker, a junior from River Ridge, swam the 50 in a time of 20.45, and Paez finished in a time of 20.48.
Senior Kyle Van Arsdall placed 34th in the preliminaries of the 1-meter diving competition as he finished with a score of 246.90. Arizona State’s Joona Puhakka won with a score of 395.80.
The meet continues on Friday with eight more events. Preliminaries begin at 11 a.m. and the finals start at 7 p.m. Prelims in the 3-meter diving competition begin at 1 p.m.
Paez, Rucker, Martinec, and Jotautas will compete in the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay. Martinec will swim in the 100-yard backstroke, an event in which he is a two-time All-American, Rucker will swim the 100-yard breaststroke, and Paez in the 200-yard freestyle. Van Arsdall will compete in the 3-meter diving competition.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday, March 28
200-yard medley relay
400-yard IM
100-yard butterfly
200-yard freestyle
100-yard breaststroke
100-yard backstroke
3-meter diving
800-yard freestyle relay