SPORTS STORIES:
SPORTS INFORMATION—2009
men's swim team breaks records, brings home champion...
CLEVELAND, OH (February 17, 2009) - Case Western Reserve University swims in one of the fastest conferences in the nation and the recent University Athletic Association (UAA) Swimming and Diving Championships reminded them of it.
“We know we are competing against some of the best swimmers in the country and I think we did better than hold our own against those teams,” said Head Coach Chris Conlon.
Team finishes [men 6th, women 7th in UAA] in sports like swimming and diving and track and field are not as relevant as say in football or basketball. At the end of the day, its individual performances that seem to capture the spotlight and the Case Western Reserve men had a couple of them.
The Spartans broke seven school records before they returned home to Cleveland on Sunday. Click here to view the updated records' page.
“I’m thrilled with the season as a whole,” Conlon explained. “I doubt there’s very many years where you have a perfect season – where everyone comes in and does exactly what you hope and there are no injuries. We faced challenges, but worked through them. To a person [men & women], we had lifetime bests across the board and that’s really all we can ask for.”
Junior Alex Hostoffer (Highland Heights, OH-pictured above) broke the 200-yard IM [1:54.92], the 200-yard breaststroke [2:03.01] and the 100-yard freestyle [46.51] record while leading off the 400-yard freestyle relay. Junior Drew Swartz (San Diego, CA-pictured below) broke his own record in the 100-yard backstroke [52.35] and both the 200- [1:33.23] and 400-yard [3:27.17] medley relay teams posted new records.
Hostoffer didn’t stop at records- he went after milestones and reached them. He became only the second male in school history to win an individual University Athletic Association championship. Hostoffer actually won two, the 100- [56.77] and 200-yard breaststroke. Pat Rodjom, who completed his collegiate swimming career in 2007, is the team’s only other UAA champion.
Listen here to a podcast recorded back in December with Hostoffer.
“Interesting enough, Pat won the 100-yard breaststroke twice and the 200-yard breaststroke once, so we have done well in the breaststroke,” said Conlon. “We actually hold the conference records in both. Pat’s still the conference record holder in the 100 [56.71] and Alex is now the conference record holder in the 200.”
THE NOD TO NATIONALS … Alex Hostoffer did record an automatic qualifying time in the 200-yard breaststroke, so he will be heading to the 2009 NCAA Division III Championships hosted by Macalaster College at the University of Minnesota March 18-21. Hostoffer will also swim in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard IM. The 200-yard medley relay team of Hostoffer, Swartz, senior John Somerville (Bloomfield Hills, MI) and junior Dan Wolak (La Grange, IL) currently has the seventh fastest time [1:33.23] in the country, but are not guaranteed a spot at nationals. If that relay is selected than Swartz will also be eligible to participate in the 100-yard backstroke, as he has a national qualifying time [52.35]. Those announcements will be made in early March.
WRESTLING'S GARDELLA NAMED AOW ... The University Athletic Association has named Case Western Reserve senior grappler Drew Gardella its Athlete of the Week [Wrestling]. Gardella posted a 2-0 record in matches against Rochester Institute of Technology and Muskingum College in a tri-meet in Horsburgh Gymnasium. Gardella shut out his opponents, never allowing a point to be scored on him in either match. Against RIT, he earned a 19-0 technical fall over his opponent. Later that day he defeated his challenger from Muskingum by pin fall in 1:37.
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