East Carolina University
The American Championships
ECU Leads Men's Field After Day One Of American Championships
February 19, 2020 | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving, Swimming & Diving
HOUSTON, Texas – Following the first day of competition at the 2020 American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, East Carolina sits atop the men's standings with 119 points at the CRWC Natatorium.
Houston scored 135 points to take first on the women's side with the Pirates in fifth with 67 points.
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ECU got off to a fast start off the men's 1-meter diving board. Freshman Rodrigo Romero was the top seed in the prelims with 334.50 points and remained at the top in the finals, winning the event with 342.20 points. Defending champion Parker Hardigree of SMU was the runner-up with 332.35 points, and SMU teammate Peter Smithson joined Hardigree on the podium in third place with 332.10 points. SMU's Dominic Hoefer (301.75 points) and ECU's Gavrilo Blijden (291.45 points) rounded out the top five.
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ECU vaulted into the men's lead with a triumphant 200 medley relay. The Pirates lineup of Marek Osina, Lyubomir Epitropov, Gustavo Santos and Pedro Gueiros established a meet record with a time of 1:25.91, breaking its own record time of 1:26.19 set at the 2019 championships. UConn claimed second in 1:26.65, and Cincinnati joined the podium with a time of 1:27.20.
The Pirates' lineup of Adela Vavrinova, Shannon Stott, Mariana Vignoli and Laura Benkova placed second in the women's 800 freestyle relay with a time of 7:13.52. Houston's 'A' entry of Mykenzie Leehy, Samantha Medlin, Monique Rae and Zarena Brown established a meet record by touching the wall in 7:06.29 for the win. Houston broke its own meet top mark of 7:06.86 set in 2018. with Tulane's squad of Elizabeth Byrne, Olivia Johnson, Kathleen Amar and Isabelle Pelka third with a time of 7:14.30.
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Houston senior Lauren Burrell shined in her home pool during her final meet at the CRWC Natatorium, and won her second career American 3-meter diving title with 325.50 points. Johanna Holloway of SMU was the runner-up with 311.90 points, and Katie Deininger joined Cougar teammate Burrell on the podium with 306.90 points. SMU's Nicole Stambo was fourth with 304.95 points and Cincinnati's Claire Schuermann was fifth with 303.95 points.
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The host Cougars continued to roll in the women's 200 medley relay final, with Laura Laderoute, Peyton Kondis, Katie Higgins and Mykenzie Leehy taking the win in 1:37.60. SMU's entry of Felicia Anderson, Gabrielle Grobler, Erin Trahan and Samantha Smith touched the wall in second (1:38.34), and Cincinnati's team of Jaclyn Klimczak, Victoria Hunt, Anhelina Kutsko and Claire Farrell touched in at 1:39.85 for third place.
 The second day of the 2020 American Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships continue Thursday with the preliminaries at 11 a.m. ET and the finals resume at 7 p.m. ET.
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Players Mentioned
