The Week that Was: Week 7
11/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Nov. 10, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Another great weekend of training was capped off by a big weekend in the pool as the Crimson Tide swimming and diving teams traveled to Louisiana to swim LSU on Friday and the University of New Orleans on Saturday.
Alabama came away with two wins, a tie and a loss on the weekend, but most importantly, it came away with some tremendous performances that point to great things down the line.
Freshman Suzanne Schwee swam a 1:59.94 in the 200 butterfly on Friday to win the event and jump to the top of the conference standings as well. Her time also makes her the second fastest 200 flyer in school history and only the second Tide swimmer to break the two-minute mark in that event.
"It's a great place for her to be right now and with the training she's done up to now, I'm really excited for where she's going to be by the end of the year, when it's go time," Alabama head coach Eric McIlquham said. "She's been working really hard and really well, but the biggest thing that has come out is that she's a great competitor who loves to race."
Alabama also got a big weekend out of junior Riley Boulden who won both breaststrokes against LSU and the 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 400 IM against UNO.
"Riley has been doing some tremendous things in practice and it's good to see that starting to translate over into the meets," McIlquham said. "He's really grown, both physically and as a competitor and that's exciting to see, especially as it points to how he's going to be at the end of the season in both the breaststrokes and IMs."
Junior All-American Agustina de Giovanni had a tremendous weekend, even by her high standards. She won three events against the Tigers of LSU, including the very tough 200 breaststroke and 500 freestyle double.
"Agustina doing her back-to-back in the 200 breaststroke and 500 free, that was amazing to see," McIlquham said. "When we needed big swims she went 2:19 in the 200 breaststroke and then came right back in the 500 freestyle to go 4:24. Both of those were great, great swims for her."
McIlquham also pointed to several other members of the Tide who are having a strong fall.
"Cameron Bass is another freshman that has been working extremely hard and doing some great swims for her," McIlquham said. "She's actually been going lifetime bests with the work load she's been putting in, which is very exciting for her career. Shannon Von Hoy has been swimming great all year and Denes Zubcsek has been doing a great job as well, training really hard and coming into his own. "
At the end of a long weekend on the road, even one as successful as the Tide enjoyed, the bus trip back is not usually one of the journey's highlights, but that was far from the case Saturday. The Crimson Tide's bus was equipped with satellite and the swimmers and divers were looking forward to watching the Alabama-LSU football game that was going on in Baton Rouge, but the satellite dish had other plans and the Tide missed the first half of the game.
"We were able to pick up the game about 150 miles out from New Orleans and by that point the game was in the middle of the third quarter and we were able to watch it through to the finish and it was amazing," McIlquham said. "The whole team really got into it and we were going nuts. I thought the bus was going to come apart when we scored that last touchdown. Being on that bus together, watching that incredible game, getting stoked for the Tide, and the excitement and the camaraderie of that ride. It was one of those great moments you have as a team, the ones you don't see coming, that those kids are going to remember for the rest of their lives."
Players Mentioned
