Georgia Southern Swimming and Diving Plays Host to Double-Dual Meet
10/22/2010 10:58:00 PM | Swimming and Diving
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Swimming and Diving team (2-1) plays host to Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) conference foe College of Charleston and 2010 NAIA National Champion Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Saturday, October 23rd, at the Recreation Activity Center (RAC). The 26-event meet will begin at 12 p.m. This will be the Eagles first of two home meets this season.
"Home meets are always nice because we don't have to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings," said Head Coach Nathan Kellogg. "Instead, we can turn our focus to racing and performing."
Georgia Southern has not only been familiar with the surroundings but also with winning at home, where the Eagles hold an all-time 12-3 record at The RAC. Georgia Southern will face tough competition from a SCAD program defending NAIA National Champions and a young College of Charleston team that finished seventh at the CCSA Championships a year ago.
"We compete against College of Charleston and SCAD every year and every year it is a tough meet," stated Kellogg, now in his seventh year as head coach. "Charleston, being in our conference, is always a good rivalry for us. We are challenging ourselves to be better than our last meet."
Georgia Southern opened the season 2-1 last weekend with wins over Campbell and North Carolina A&T. Senior Ali Campbell (Ft. McMurray, Alberta Canada) had two first-place finishes in the 500 and 1000 free while Devan White (Kennesaw, Ga.), Caroline Bevillard (Bishop, Ga.) and Megan Ostrom (St.Louis Park, Minn.) swam to first-place finishes in the 100 free, 100 back and 100 breast, respectively. The Eagles also finished first in the 200 medley and 400 free relays.
At the Richmond Duals, Georgia Southern swam to three first-place finishes. Rachael Stockwell (Jacksonville, Fla.) won the 100 fly while Courtney Harrison (Greenville, S.C.) took first-place in the 400-yard IM. The Eagles also won the 200-yard freestyle relay.
"I thought we performed well in the first dual meets considering how hard we have been training," said Kellogg. "With our swimmers, we were a little more tired than I expected, but college swimming is all about being able to perform when you are tired. We need to be a little more sharp on the details of our races. Overall, I was pleased with how our swimmers raced."
Georgia Southern was most impressive on the boards at the Richmond Duals as the Eagles swept the one-meter and three-meter diving competition. Sara Meisenhelder (Carmel, Ind.) finished first on both the one-meter and three-meter boards.
"On the boards, our divers were outstanding, especially considering it was the first college meet for three of the four," stated Kellogg. "Katie [Creighton] (Georgia Southern Diving Coach) and I expect them to improve on the boards as they gain confidence and experience."
Georgia Southern will also play host to the men's teams from College of Charleston and SCAD in a dual meet.
To keep updated on the Georgia Southern Swimming and Diving team please visit www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com or visit facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSScores.
