Alaska Holds Steady At Nike Cup Second Day :: Nanooks qualify three swimmers for evening session; stay in 15th place

Nov. 17, 2007

LONG BEACH, CA- The Alaska Nanooks concluded another intense day at the competitive Nike Cup swim meet with plenty to brag about. After seeing just one swimmer (Mariya Pavlovskaya) qualify for the evening finals on Thursday, the Nanooks advanced three swimmers to the finals on Friday, breaking two team records along the way.

Alaska's 800 free relay team of Sam Zinsli, Kelly Becker, Kinsey Laine and Mariya Pavlovskaya shattered the previous team record (8:08.24) by almost seven seconds, touching the wall in 8:01.38.

Pavlovskaya then proceeded to break another team record in the 400 IM. Her time of 4:35.68 beat the previous Alaska mark by over two seconds, and was good for 19th place in the event. Becker also shone in the 100 fly, finishing the sprint in just 59.85, putting her in 31st place overall after she had come into the event seeded 51st.

Jacqueline Van Driessche impressed for the Blue and Gold as well, landing in 24nd place after swimming a 1:01.58 in the 100 back.

The women finished the day in 15th place out of 21 teams, amassing 81 total points over the two days of swimming. First day leaders UCLA continue to set the pace, holding nearly twice as many points as the next closest competitors, Brigham Young University.