Northwestern University Athletics
Trio of 'Cats Represent NU at NCAA Championships
3/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
March 27, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Mark Hamming (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), Kellan O'Connor (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Preparatory) and Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) take aim at All-America status Thursday as the NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships open in Austin, Texas. All three will represent Northwestern in the 200 individual medley Thursday, and three events apiece as competition continues through Saturday.
Swanson, who has earned six All-America honors in his career including four last season, will compete in both the 100 and 200 backstroke in addition to the 200 IM. The junior is seeded 11th in the 200 IM, 32nd in the 200 back and 33rd in the 100 back. He was an automatic qualifier to the Championships in the 200 IM and provisionally qualified in both backstroke events.
O'Connor will seek to build on his five-time All-America status, four of which were earned a year ago. He is the highest seeded Wildcat in any event, entering the NCAA meet with the nation's seventh-fastest time in the 200 butterfly. He won the event at the Big Ten Championships in an "A" cut time of 1:44.53 to earn all-conference honors.
The senior also stands an outstanding chance to become an All-American in the other two events in which he will compete. O'Connor automatically qualified in the 200 IM and is seeded 12th. He is also ranked 17th in the 100 fly by virtue of earning a "B" cut time.
Hamming earned two honorable mention All-America honors last season as a member of two relay squads. This year he will seek out his first individual accolade. The junior is ranked 19th in the 200 fly, 28th in the 200 IM and 30th in the 100 fly. He provisionally qualified in each event.
Northwestern finished 19th at last year's NCAA Championships, the school's best finish in over 50 years. With only three individuals qualifying, the Wildcats will not have the luxury of having any entrants in the relay events. However, strong performances by the three individuals could help NU approach last season's finish.
Preliminary round competition begins each day at 11 a.m. Central time, with finals slated for 7 p.m. Updated results are available at the University of Texas' athletics website, http://www.texassports.com.
