Alabama Swimmers Compete at the U.S. Open
12/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Some came looking for Olympic Trials cuts. Others just wanted to see where they stood at this point in the season, after a few months of solid training. Whatever the case, the U.S. Open offered America's and some of the world's elite swimmers their first big-meet opportunity as they inch closer to the Olympic year.
For the Crimson Tide, the trip to Seattle, site of this year's U.S. Open, offered the chance to test their mettle against the some of the world's best.
Alabama's men came away with 40 team points on the strength of two top-10 relays .The 800-meter freestyle relay of sophomore Waleed Al-Qahtani, senior James Willcox, sophomore JT Jones and sophomore Chris Flamion finaled, taking sixth place with a 7:48.67. The Tide's 400 medley relay, consisting of senior Brendan Ashby, senior Ben Worby, Jones and Willcox took 10th with a 3:58.66.
Alabama's women scored in the 400 medley relay when sophomore Kathryn Hallquist, combined with freshmen Amanda Gilbert, Melina Bassino and Nicole Weatherman to take 16th with a 4:00.66.
