by Jesse Delerno, Student Assistant SID
HOUSTON, Texas -- LSU swimmers Hannes Heyl and Luis Gonzalez each captured event titles, and sophomore Mary Beck collected two more NCAA provisional qualifying times to highlight the teams’ efforts Saturday at the Cougar Classic Fall Invitational.
Following the second day of action, the 15th-ranked LSU men lengthened their lead over No. 24 UNLV, SMU and Incarnate Word, while the 21st-ranked Lady Tigers remained third in the women’s nine-team field.
Heyl recorded the victory in the 100-yard backstroke with an NCAA ‘B’ cut mark and season best of 48.96 seconds. The junior also swam another provisional time in the 100 butterfly (48.30) to claim runner-up honors. Gonzalez earned the win in the 400 individual medley with a 3:58.21 clocking.
Beck continues to enjoy a fantastic invitational as the Austin, Texas, native followed up Friday’s school-record performance with NCAA ‘B’ cuts in the 100 back and 200 freestyle. She took second in the 100 back with a season best of 54.34, second-best in school history, and posted a third-place finish in the 200 free with a mark of 1:48.05, fifth all-time at LSU.
In relay competition, the men’s 800 free squad of Sean LeNeave, Timmy Dasinger, Clint Hallum and Craig Hamilton registered a victory (6:46.25), while the Tigers’ 200 medley group of James Meyers, Andrei Tuomola, Heyl and LeNeave improved the team’s season best with another ‘B’ cut of 1:29.46 to finish second.
The men’s diving trio of Brian Gemberling, Matt Vieke and Jesse Lyman led the Tigers to a 2-3-4 finish in the three-meter. Gemberling tallied the third-highest mark in program annals with his second-place score of 367.95. Vieke scored 317.55 points in the finals after totaling a season-high score of 349.80 in the prelims to finish third, while Lyman notched a score of 290.35 to place fourth. Freshman Elle Schmidt came in 10th in the women’s one-meter.
Furthermore, Hamilton, Hallum, Tuomola, Meyers and Jane Trepp each delivered top-three finishes. Hamilton and Hallum placed second and third, respectively, in the 200 free. Hallum also swam to a runner-up finish in the 400 I.M. (3:58.45).
Tuomola secured runner-up honors in the 100 breaststroke with a personal best of 55.66, while Meyers took third in the 100 back (50.15). Trepp touched the wall in a season best of 1:03.05 in the 100 breast to seize third and swam to a fifth-place finish in the 100 fly (54.63).
The Cougar Classic will conclude Sunday. Live results will be available at www.LSUsports.net.
Cougar Classic Fall Invitational
Nov. 20-22 – Houston, Texas
Current Men’s Standings
1. LSU – 992
2. UNLV – 473
3. SMU – 464
4. Incarnate Word – 316
Current Women’s Standings
1. Texas A&M – 1,054
2. SMU – 496
3. LSU – 436
4. Houston – 325
5. Tulane – 127
6. Incarnate Word – 99
7. Air Force – 84
8. Kansas – 59
9. UNLV – 30
Schedule of Events
Sunday, Nov. 22
1650-yard Freestyle
200-yard Backstroke
100-yard Freestyle
200-yard Breaststroke
200-yard Butterfly
Platform Diving
400-yard Freestyle Relay
*The prelims will begin each day at 10 a.m. (CST), while the finals will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
