Aug. 12, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Florencia Szigeti, an ASU junior, and Bobby Zaabadich, coming off of his senior year at ASU, both had stellar showings in their latest international swimming competitions. Szigeti tied for second on Monday in the 100m freestyle at the Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to earn a silver for her native Argentina. Zaabadich placed second in the 50m freestyle at the USA Swimming ConocoPhillips Summer National Swimming Championships in College Park, Md. on Saturday.
At the Pan Am Games, day one of the swimming competition began successfully for the Argentine, as she tied with American Christina Swindle for second place in the 100 free with a 55.92. Szigeti's 56.73 in the morning preliminary session gave her a number three seed going into the evening's "A" final where she earned the silver, just over three-tenths of a second shy of the gold.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, Zaabadich claimed the biggest finish of his career with his strong performance at the National Championships. He notched a 22.93 in the 50 free morning prelims to get the number two seed going into the finals. There he touched the wall in 22.81 to finish behind only Neil Walker, who recorded his third national championship in the 50 free. With both of his times, Zaabadich has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Day three of the Pan Am Games swimming competition is tomorrow with Sun Devil Nick Brunelli in action, representing the United States in the 100m freestyle.