University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gophers Travel to Big Ten Championships
2/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
The women's swimming and diving team will travel to the Big Ten Championships this weekend, hosted by Purdue University. The event will run from Feb. 19-22 starting with preliminaries at 11 a.m., followed by finals at 7 p.m.
"The team looks very good at this point in the season," Head coach Jean Freeman said. "We feel very good about the teams we have beaten in dual meets this season."
Big Ten Preview
Minnesota will look to improve its ninth-place finish from a year ago. Penn State will look for Big Ten title repeat, but Wisconsin and Indiana have a chance to take the top spot from the Nittany Lions.
"We look to move into the middle of the pack for this year's team totals," Freeman said. "We hope to score three in the flys and four in the breaststroke and diving competitions."
The Gophers will have its strongest competition in the breaststroke events, led by senior All-American Keri Hehn. Hehn has recorded provisional qualifying times in both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke competition. Hehn has the fourth-best time in the Big Ten in the 100 and second-best in the 200 breaststroke behind Penn State's Courtney Stanchock.
Minnesota medley relays will also look to improve from last year's competition as well. Minnesota finished both of the 200 and 400 in eighth place last year at the Big Ten Championships. The Gophers have posted a 1:46.11 for their season best in the 200 medley. The foursome included Megan Moore, Keri Hehn, Sarah Bohlsen, Dana Baum. This year the Gophers clocked a 3:49.29 at the Minnesota Invite for a season team best. The 400 consisted of Moore, Keri Hehn, Juleen Rodakowski and Baum. In both the 200 and 400 medley relays, the Gophers have clocked the sixth-best time in the conference.
Big Ten Championships Last Year
The Golden Gophers finished ninth with 226 points at the 2002 Big Ten Championships on Feb. 20-23 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Penn State University won its first conference title with 594.5 points. Dana Baum scored 62.5 of Minnesota's 226 points, finishing in the top 10 in seven events at the 2002 Big Ten Championships. Baum placed second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:48.64 and fifth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:50.23. Junior Keri Hehn placed third in the 200-breaststroke with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 2:13.82. The time is the second best time in school history behind only national champion Gretchen Hegener. Hehn placed fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke, swimming a time of 1:02.50, the third fastest 100 breaststroke time in school history.
Leading the divers at the Big Ten meet was newcomer Rebecca Cornthwaite, who finished second in the platform diving competition with a NCAA Zone qualifying score of 391.60 points. Juleen Rodakowski finished 10th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.56. Teammate Carol Crouthamel placed 11th with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:22.46 in the 400-yard IM.
The Nevada Connection
Senior captain Dana Baum and freshman swimmer Kate Hardt both hail from Carson City, Nevada. The duo competed together for Carson High School before Baum came to the University of Minnesota in 1999. The pair also competes in the same events, usually finishing one-two in the freestyle events. Baum has the team's top time in the 50, 100 and 200 free, while Hardt ranks second and third in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle. Hardt also has the top time of 4:26.87 in the 400 individual medley second-best in the 200 IM.
Minnesota's Last Action
Minnesota's last action was Feb. 7-8 when the Gophers hosted the Minnesota Challenge at the University Aquatic Center. Minnesota captured 17 first-place finishes in the two-day event. The Gophers started the challenge with a 200-yard medley relay, which the Maroon and Gold took the top two spots. The team of Shanna Gustafson, Melissa Schold, Megan Peters, and Megan Moore won the event with a time of 1:48.79.
In the 200-yard freestyle, the top eight spots were again taken by Minnesota. Kristin Rygg won the event with a time of 1:55.08. She was followed closely in second by Juleen Rodakowski and her time of 1:56.24.
Gold Country dominated the 100-yard freestyle, taking the top eight spots. Kate Hardt won the event with a time of 52.29. Dana Baum placed second with a time of 52,32, and Sara Vine came in third with a time of 52.57.
In diving, Minnesota took the top four spots in the 1-meter diving competition and the top five spots in the 3-meter event. Shannon Jackson won the 1-meter with a score of 273.50. Kim Bahmer came in second, and Rebecca Cornthwaite came in third. Cornthwaite then won the 3-meter competition with a team and season best score of 476.80.
The Golden Gopher women took the top three spots in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Sarah Solfelt, Sarah Bohlsen, Arianna Gardner, and Colleen Morgan came in with a time of 1:38.88 and placed first. Kristin Rygg swam the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 5:00.39 to place first. Rygg was followed closely behind Marko and her time of 5:06.48.
Head Coach Jean Freeman
The Golden Gopher head coach Jean Freeman is in her 30th season as the head coach of the Minnesota team. In her career, Freeman has led Minnesota to back-to-back Big Ten Championships in 1999 and 2000 and has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year four times. She is the only female recipient of the National Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Trophy. She has an endowed scholarship named after her, and she was inducted into the Minnesota Hall of Fame on October 28, 2000. Freeman has coached 63 swimmers to All-America status 173 times. Over 100 swimmers have garnered All-Big Ten honors during Freeman's reign, during which time the Gophers have posted winning records in 19 consecutive seasons.
Diving Coach Kongzheng Li
The Golden Gopher diving coach Kongzheng Li, better known as "KZ", is in his seventh season as the women's and men's diving coach at Minnesota. Li coached former Golden Gopher T.D. Rowe to conference titles in both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events in 1998, and as a result was honored as the Big Ten's Diving Coach of the Year. Li, a four-time Chinese Olympian and 1984 bronze medalist, previously served as the head diving coach and CEO for Team Orlando Diving from 1993 to 1996. He had been the head coach for Texas Aquatics (1991-93) at the University of Texas and, during that time, served as a volunteer for the Longhorns? diving program.
On the Starting Blocks
The Golden Gophers will host the GOPHER-IT Invite for their final home event of the 2002-03 campaign on March 2. The preliminaries will begin at noon, while the finals are slated for a 2 p.m. start. Golden Gophers Travel to Big Ten Championships
The women's swimming and diving team will travel to the Big Ten Championships this weekend, hosted by Purdue University. The event will run from Feb. 19-22 starting with preliminaries at 11 a.m., followed by finals at 7 p.m.
"The team looks very good at this point in the season," Head coach Jean Freeman said. "We feel very good about the teams we have beaten in dual meets this season."
Big Ten Preview
Minnesota will look to improve its ninth-place finish from a year ago. Penn State will look for Big Ten title repeat, but Wisconsin and Indiana have a chance to take the top spot from the Nittany Lions.
"We look to move into the middle of the pack for this year's team totals," Freeman said. "We hope to score three in the flys and four in the breaststroke and diving competitions."
The Gophers will have its strongest competition in the breaststroke events, led by senior All-American Keri Hehn. Hehn has recorded provisional qualifying times in both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke competition. Hehn has the fourth-best time in the Big Ten in the 100 and second-best in the 200 breaststroke behind Penn State's Courtney Stanchock.
Minnesota medley relays will also look to improve from last year's competition as well. Minnesota finished both of the 200 and 400 in eighth place last year at the Big Ten Championships. The Gophers have posted a 1:46.11 for their season best in the 200 medley. The foursome included Megan Moore, Keri Hehn, Sarah Bohlsen, Dana Baum. This year the Gophers clocked a 3:49.29 at the Minnesota Invite for a season team best. The 400 consisted of Moore, Keri Hehn, Juleen Rodakowski and Baum. In both the 200 and 400 medley relays, the Gophers have clocked the sixth-best time in the conference.
Big Ten Championships Last Year
The Golden Gophers finished ninth with 226 points at the 2002 Big Ten Championships on Feb. 20-23 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Penn State University won its first conference title with 594.5 points. Dana Baum scored 62.5 of Minnesota's 226 points, finishing in the top 10 in seven events at the 2002 Big Ten Championships. Baum placed second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:48.64 and fifth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:50.23. Junior Keri Hehn placed third in the 200-breaststroke with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 2:13.82. The time is the second best time in school history behind only national champion Gretchen Hegener. Hehn placed fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke, swimming a time of 1:02.50, the third fastest 100 breaststroke time in school history.
Leading the divers at the Big Ten meet was newcomer Rebecca Cornthwaite, who finished second in the platform diving competition with a NCAA Zone qualifying score of 391.60 points. Juleen Rodakowski finished 10th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.56. Teammate Carol Crouthamel placed 11th with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:22.46 in the 400-yard IM.
The Nevada Connection
Senior captain Dana Baum and freshman swimmer Kate Hardt both hail from Carson City, Nevada. The duo competed together for Carson High School before Baum came to the University of Minnesota in 1999. The pair also competes in the same events, usually finishing one-two in the freestyle events. Baum has the team's top time in the 50, 100 and 200 free, while Hardt ranks second and third in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle. Hardt also has the top time of 4:26.87 in the 400 individual medley second-best in the 200 IM.
Minnesota's Last Action
Minnesota's last action was Feb. 7-8 when the Gophers hosted the Minnesota Challenge at the University Aquatic Center. Minnesota captured 17 first-place finishes in the two-day event. The Gophers started the challenge with a 200-yard medley relay, which the Maroon and Gold took the top two spots. The team of Shanna Gustafson, Melissa Schold, Megan Peters, and Megan Moore won the event with a time of 1:48.79.
In the 200-yard freestyle, the top eight spots were again taken by Minnesota. Kristin Rygg won the event with a time of 1:55.08. She was followed closely in second by Juleen Rodakowski and her time of 1:56.24.
Gold Country dominated the 100-yard freestyle, taking the top eight spots. Kate Hardt won the event with a time of 52.29. Dana Baum placed second with a time of 52,32, and Sara Vine came in third with a time of 52.57.
In diving, Minnesota took the top four spots in the 1-meter diving competition and the top five spots in the 3-meter event. Shannon Jackson won the 1-meter with a score of 273.50. Kim Bahmer came in second, and Rebecca Cornthwaite came in third. Cornthwaite then won the 3-meter competition with a team and season best score of 476.80.
The Golden Gopher women took the top three spots in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Sarah Solfelt, Sarah Bohlsen, Arianna Gardner, and Colleen Morgan came in with a time of 1:38.88 and placed first. Kristin Rygg swam the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 5:00.39 to place first. Rygg was followed closely behind Marko and her time of 5:06.48.
Head Coach Jean Freeman
The Golden Gopher head coach Jean Freeman is in her 30th season as the head coach of the Minnesota team. In her career, Freeman has led Minnesota to back-to-back Big Ten Championships in 1999 and 2000 and has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year four times. She is the only female recipient of the National Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Trophy. She has an endowed scholarship named after her, and she was inducted into the Minnesota Hall of Fame on October 28, 2000. Freeman has coached 63 swimmers to All-America status 173 times. Over 100 swimmers have garnered All-Big Ten honors during Freeman's reign, during which time the Gophers have posted winning records in 19 consecutive seasons.
Diving Coach Kongzheng Li
The Golden Gopher diving coach Kongzheng Li, better known as "KZ", is in his seventh season as the women's and men's diving coach at Minnesota. Li coached former Golden Gopher T.D. Rowe to conference titles in both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events in 1998, and as a result was honored as the Big Ten's Diving Coach of the Year. Li, a four-time Chinese Olympian and 1984 bronze medalist, previously served as the head diving coach and CEO for Team Orlando Diving from 1993 to 1996. He had been the head coach for Texas Aquatics (1991-93) at the University of Texas and, during that time, served as a volunteer for the Longhorns? diving program.
On the Starting Blocks
The Golden Gophers will host the GOPHER-IT Invite for their final home event of the 2002-03 campaign on March 2. The preliminaries will begin at noon, while the finals are slated for a 2 p.m. start.
Players Mentioned
