Billikens Compete in A-10 Championships this Week
Feb. 19, 2008
This Week: Seniors Emily Stuifbergen (Austin, Texas / James Bowie), Brad Byars (Marion, Ill. / Marion) and Tim Adams (St. Louis, Mo. / Vianney) will have one last shot at glory when the Saint Louis swimming and diving squads take part in the Atlantic 10 Championships Feb. 20-23 at the Flickinger Aquatics Center in Buffalo, N.Y. The Billikens are returning to competition after a three-week hiatus. Last Time Out: The Billiken men (19-4) defeated Eastern Illinois 131-100 in a dual meet at Charleston, Ill., on Feb. 2, and the women's squad (19-3-1) won 161-81. Head coach Jim Halliburton picked up his 200th career dual-meet victory at the meet. Coach Jim Halliburton: Billiken head coach Jim Halliburton is in his seventh season at the helm of the Billiken swimming and diving program. His teams have amassed a 200-58-1 dual-meet record during his tenure. His staff is comprised of diving coach Greg Triefenbach and assistant coaches Meredith Kiersznowski, Dave Stevens, Clay Gasparovich and Jessen Wabeke. Recapping the Results: In its second season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, Saint Louis finished eighth overall in the 2007 women's competition with 307 points while the men's team placed 10th with 238 points. The Billikens' top finishers were Elena Ramirez (Champaign, Ill. / St. Thomas More), who captured first in the 100 fly (55.93) and 200 fly (2:02.74) for the second straight season, and Anna Larson (St. Charles, Mo. / Francis Howell), who broke the league record for 11 dives on the three-meter board (552.10) en route to claiming first-place honors. Brad Byars was the top finisher on the men's team with a third-place effort in the 100 free (46.16).
A Ramirez Three-Peat?: Junior Elena Ramirez has earned the gold medal in the 100 and 200 fly at the A-10 Championships for the past two seasons. Her performances in both events at the 2006 meet were school records. Ramirez's 55.93 in the 100 fly last season ranks third all-time while her 2:02.74 effort in the 200 fly is fourth in SLU annals. A-10 Leaders: Sprinter Brad Byars leads the A-10 with four A-10 Performer of the Week nods this season. He enters the championships with the league's top time in the 100 free (45.27). Byars also owns the A-10's third-fastest times in the 50 (21.16) and 200 free (1:41.72) events and the fourth-best performance in the 100 fly (51.02) this season. Freshman Michael Dahle (St. Louis, Mo. / Lindbergh), a league-best four-time A-10 Rookie of the Week, owns the top time in the conference in the 1000 free (9:43.00). On the women's side, sophomore Anna Larson owns the league's best six-dive efforts on both the one- (275.20) and three-meter (289.30) boards. Zoning Out: Sophomore diver Anna Larson qualified for the NCAA Zone Meet for the second straight season with her performance at the Illinois-Chicago dual on Nov. 17, 2007. She posted a score of 275.20 on the one-meter board and a 289.30 in the three-meter event. Record Breakers: After posting eight of the top 10 times in the 100 free, senior Brad Byars eclipsed Jason Difani's record with a 45.27 race at Southern Illinois on Dec. 8, 2007. Rookie Michael Dahle shattered Chris Johansen's 1000 free mark with a time of 9:43.00 in a dual against South Dakota State on Jan. 18. That same day, Byars, Kevin Parker, Adam Trafton and Stephen Sheridan turned in the top 800-free relay performance (6:57.37) in school history. Rank and File: In the latest Division I Mid-Major Top 25 poll, the Saint Louis women's team is ranked 21st and the Billiken men are 25th. UMass (eighth) and St. Bonaventure (20th) are the only other A-10 men's squads among the top 25 while the UMass women join SLU in the top 25 at No. 23. |
|
