FAIRFAX, Va. - As the nation's best swimmers descend on Indianapolis in the final championship before the 2008 Olympic Team Trials, three members of the George Mason community will be present to represent the Green and Gold. 2007 graduates Tom Koucheravy and Joe Houchin, along with volunteer assistant coach Kate Ziegler, will compete in the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships, held from July 31 to August 4 at the Indiana University Natatorium.

Ziegler, a volunteer assistant coach for the Patriots, made her mark upon the world record books in June, shattering the longest-standing swimming world record as she topped Janet Evans' mark in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:42.54. Along with her gold medal for that event, she also struck gold in the world championships with a time of 8:18.52 in the 800-meter freestyle. Ziegler will compete in four events at Nationals: the 50-, 100-, 200-, 400- and 800-meter freestyle. Although she holds the record in the 1500-meter freestyle, Ziegler will not compete in the event, in order to concentrate on the other distances.

Koucheravy, a three-time CAA Swimmer of the Year, honoree, will compete in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle events. In the 1500-meter event, he is seeded fourth overall, with a time of 15:17.09, while Koucheravy drops just one seed in the 800-meter competition, with a time of 8:01.62. His time of 3:54.81 places him in the 18th seed for the 400-meter event, while being seeded 118th in the 200-meter event.

Houchin, who took home a gold medal at the CAA Swimming and Diving Championships this past February in the 200 butterfly, will compete in the same event and is seeded 103rd, with a time of 1:49.54.

Koucheravy was the winner of the 2007 Dr. Frank Pettrone Student-Athlete of the Year Award. He was an honorable mention All-American in the 1,650-yard freestyle, the CAA Swimmer of the Year and the Most Outstanding Swimmer at the CAA Championships. He won the CAA Swimmer of the Year and Most Outstanding Swimmer at the CAA Championships in his sophomore and junior seasons as well. As a junior, he was a two-time All-American. This season, Koucheravy qualified for the NCAA Swimming Championships in two events.

Houchin is a four-time gold medal winner at the CAA Championships. His victory in 2007 matched his performance at the 2006 event, where he won gold in the 200 fly with a time of 1:50.15. He was also a member of the first place 800-meter freestyle relay team at the 2006 and 2007 conference championships.

Fans can follow the action on a live webcast at http://www.usaswimming.org from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Team scores and trials will be posted on the site as well.