Swimming and Diving Opens 2009-2010 Slate at Georgia Tech
10/2/2009 2:21:00 PM | Swimming and Diving
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern swimming and diving team opens its 2009-2010 schedule at Georgia Tech Saturday. The Eagles will face Georgia Tech, Alabama, Florida Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast in a 1 p.m. meet at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center.
The Eagles return 14 letterwinners and add nine newcomers from a team that finished 3rd at the CCSA Championships. Georgia Southern went 6-8 in dual meets but is looking to build off their record-setting performance at the CCSA Championships.
The Eagles broke 17 records enroute to their best finish at the conference championships.
"Last season was a tremendous step forward for our team. Some of those records have been around since the early '90's, so it shows that big things are possible when our student-athletes dedicate and commit themselves to achieving their goals," said head coach Nathan Kellogg.
GS returns Ali Campbell (Ft. McMurray, Alberta) who helped break five of those records. She set new school marks in the 500 Free (5:00.53), 1000 Free (10:20.93), 1650 Free (17:08.53), 200 Free Relay (1:34.87) and 400 Free Relay (3:27.89).
"Ali has a lot of talent, but she also puts in the work and enjoys training. She can compete in every freestyle event, and I believe she is just scratching the surface of her potential," said Kellogg.
Senior Courtney Martz (Woodbine, Ga.) also broke five records last season. Martz set new school marks in the 50 Free (23.56), 100 Free (51.49), 200 Medley Relay (1:45.00), 200 Free Relay (1:34.87) and the 400 Free Relay (3:27.89).
"Courtney has been a large part of our success at Georgia Southern. She broke two individual school records in addition to being part of three record-breaking relays, which shows the type of swimmer she is - a big-time performer. As a senior, I look for Courtney to be the rock of our team's sprint corps," said Kellogg.
The Eagles are looking for more records to fall to senior Lauren Parr (Canton, Ohio). Parr set school records in the 200 Fly (2:06.34), 200 IM (2:07.12) and 400 IM (4:25.75) in her first season with the Eagles. Also returning for their senior year are swimmers Jordyn Pasley (Knoxville, Tenn.), Rachel Sale (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) and Ashley White (Charlotte, N.C.).
"I look for our seniors to put their hearts into their last season. Every year we ask our seniors to lead their teammates, make the most of their final season, and enjoy it," said Kellogg. "They are a great group to work with and I have no doubts that they will finish knowing they got the most out of their experience as a student-athlete here at Georgia Southern."
Pasley was a member of the 800 Free Relay team that set a new school mark with a time of 7:36.51 at the CCSA Championships.
