Swimming at the Swoosh
ECU Swimmers Hitting Nike Cup Full Speed
Scotty Williams, Staff Writer

November 17, 2005

Swimming Coach Rick Kobe hasn't had a whole lot to complain about through thus far with his swimming teams. The Pirate swimmers haven't lost a meet yet, have stroked through the competition as gracefully as they swim events, and look very strong heading into the upcoming Nike Cup.

The women's team has been stone cold unbeatable to start the season; the ladies have won their meets by an average of 51.8 points, averaging 147 points per meet through six meets. Through those six meets the women have claimed top finishes in nearly all the individual and relay events, and their 6-0 start is their best since the 1999-2000 season.

The men have won their four meets by an average of 32.5 points and averaged 127 points per meet. They have swum very competitively and are thus far performing right up to Kobe's expectations coming into the Nike Cup.

Since sweeping the tri-meet with George Mason and William & Mary back at the end of October, the women followed up with a strong performance against Marshall and Gardner-Webb in a tri-meet. The women defeated Gardner-Webb 168-108 and racked up 173 points to Marshall's 114. In that meet the women put up some of their fastest times this season en route to the victory. The women put up new top times in the 50 and 1000 freestyle, the 100 and 200 fly, 100 and 200 backstroke, 100 and 200 breaststroke, 200 individual medley, 200 free relay, 200 medley relay, and both levels of diving. In the 50 freestyle, senior Adrienne Williams sits barely a half second behind the school record, and the same goes for Rebecca Perry in the 100 freestyle.

Kobe is very excited about his team's performance and looks forward to the upcoming competition.

"The season has been awesome so far. We are excited to be undefeated at this time. Some great swims at the Nike Cup will make for an even greater first semester," Kobe said.

The Nike Cup will certainly provide a test of both teams' prowess. The event, held in Chapel Hill at the Maurice J. Koury Natatorium, will feature teams from North Carolina, Clemson, Kentucky, Florida International, Syracuse and Virginia Tech. The women's squads from UNC and Virginia Tech are both currently ranked in the Top 25 by CollegeSwimming.com, with the Tarheels coming in at 22 and the Hokies at 23. The Tarheel men's team also ranks in at 22.

In last year's Nike Cup, the Lady Pirates finished sixth as Purdue won the event with UNC taking second place. Neither Pirates team managed a first-place finish; the highest finisher was Diane Parker, who finished third in the 200 breaststroke, while Megan Pulaski finished ninth in the 1650 freestyle.

Kobe doesn't think much about the numbers in the Nike Cup, however.

"It's one of the fastest and most prestigious invitational in the country, and it's an honor to get invited back each year," Kobe said.

"We plan on swimming fast and having several of our swimmers final."

The event will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with each night hosting finals. The top swimmers from preliminary events are invited back that night for the finals. The Pirate swimmers will definitely come out of this event better and more equipped to continue their dominance.