March 18, 2004
COLLEGE STATION, Texas. - On the first night of competition at the 2004 NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships, Arizona State junior ?gnes Kov?cs earned the ninth All-American honor of her career with a sixth-place finish in the 200m IM. The Sun Devils as a team are in 15th place after the first day of the short course meters meet with 26 points.
Kov?cs clocked a 2:12.73 in the championship final after notching a season-best of 2:11.96 in the morning prelims.
Junior diver Trisha Tumlinson placed ninth overall on the 1m springboard, barely missing the finals with a preliminary total of 270.65 which was just over a point shy of reaching the championship round.
The only other Sun Devil competitors in the finals were the 400m medley relay quartet of sophomore Erin Baldinger (1:03.85), Kov?cs (1:08.74), freshman Amanda Gillespie (1:01.72) and junior Florencia Szigeti (54.42).
Sun Devil individuals who competed in the morning session only included senior Petra Banovic in the 400m freestyle (4:12.35) and Baldinger in the 50m freestyle (26.12). The 200m freestyle relay finished 18th in the prelims with Szigeti leading off the race with a split of 25.79, the second-fastest 50 freestyle time in ASU history.
The first day of the NCAA Championships was marked by incredibly fast swims with US Open or American records being set in almost every event and NCAA records being set each event on the evening. The pace was set during the opening race of the Championships as Georgia's 200m freestyle relay squad set a new world record with a time of 1:37.27. Auburn leads the team standings with 188 points. Competition continues tomorrow and Saturday at the Student Rec Center Natatorium on the campus of Texas A&M. This year the NCAA Championships are being contested in short course meters for the first time since 2000 and the second time overall.
1 Auburn 188 2 Georgia 135 3 Arizona 86 4 Florida 84 5 Stanford 82 15 Arizona State 26