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Ziegler Named to 2008 U.S. Olympic Swim Team
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 |
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