July 7, 2008
July 7, 2008
2008 U.S. Olympic Trials Results
OMAHA, Neb. - George Mason volunteer assistant coach Kate Ziegler, a sophomore at the University who competes professionally, has been named to the United States' 2008 Olympic swim team after her outstanding performance at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. Ziegler, a Great Falls, Va., native, earned a spot after finishing second in both the 400-meter and 800-meter freestyle events at the Qwest Center.
Ziegler's time of 8:29.39 was the fastest among the 54 entrants in the preliminary heats on Friday, and she followed that up with a 8:25.38 performance in the finals, but was eclipsed by Katie Hoff's winning time of 8:20.81.
In the 400-meter, Ziegler swam the third-fastest time of the preliminary heats a week ago, finishing in 4:06.04. Later that evening, her personal-best 4:03.92 mark in the finals ranked second, as she finished 1.60 seconds behind Hoff.
Ziegler, who struck gold in the 2007 World Championships in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle in Melbourne, Australia, will be making her first appearance in the Olympics.
Mason was also represented at the Olympic Trials by former Patriots standout Tom Koucheravy. Koucheravy, who competed for Mason from 2004 to 2007, finished sixth in the finals of the 1,500-meter freestyle with a personal-best mark of 15:16.38. He placed fifth out of 74 in the preliminaries with a time of 15:16.68.
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 2007 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.
The swimming portion of the 2008 Summer Olympics will begin in Beijing, China on Saturday, August 9. Preliminary heats for the 400-meter freestyle will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 10 (6:30 a.m. EDT), with the finals set for the 10 a.m. session the following day (10 p.m. Sunday EDT). The 800-meter freestyle heats are set for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 14 with the finals scheduled for Saturday, August 16 in the morning session.
2008 U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TEAM ROSTER
Men
Mark Warkentin Santa Barbara Swim Team
Michael Phelps Club Wolverine
Larsen Jensen Trojan Swim Club
Brendan Hansen, Longhorn Aquatic Club
Peter Vanderkaay, Club Wolverine
Ricky Berens, Longhorn Aquatics
Klete Keller, Trojan Swim Club
Aaron Peirsol, Longhorn Aquatics
Scott Spann, Longhorn Aquatics
Garrett Weber-Gale, Longhorn Aquatics
Jason Lezak, Rose Bowl Aquatics
Cullen Jones, Swim Mac
Nathan Adrian, unattached
Ryan Lochte, Daytona Beach Swimming
Mark Gangloff, Swim Mac
Matt Grevers, Tucson Ford
Gil Stovall, Athens Bulldog Swim Club
Eric Shanteau, Longhorn Aquatics
Ian Crocker, Longhorn Aquatics
Ben Wildman-Tobriner, Stanford Swimming
Erik Vendt, Club Wolverine
David Walters, Longhorn Aquatics
Women
Chloe Sutton, Mission Viejo Nadadores
Katie Hoff, North Baltimore Aquatic Club
Christine Magnuson, University of Tennessee
Natalie Coughlin, California Aquatics
Jessica Hardy, Trojan Swim Club
Allison Schmitt, Club Wolverine
Julia Smit, Stanford Swimming
Caroline Burckle, Lakeside Swim Team
Elaine Breeden, Stanford Swimming
Kathleen Hersey, Swim Atlanta
Elizabeth Beisel, Bluefish Swim Club
Margaret Hoelzer, King Aquatic Club
Megan Jendrick, King Aquatic Club
Kate Ziegler, The Fish
Rebecca Soni, Trojan Swim Club
Amanda Beard, Team Bruin
Dara Torres, Coral Springs Swim Club
Lacey Nymeyer, Tucson Ford
Kim Vandenberg, Team Bruin
Christine Marshall, Aggie Swim Club (Bio temporarily unavailable).
Emily Silver, California Aquatics,
