LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (2/12/04) - North Texas posted season-best times in five of the first six events at the Sun Belt Conference Championships on Thursday, including a school-record time in the 500 Freestyle by junior Bethany Pipes.
North Texas completed the first day of competition at the conference championships in fifth place with 106 points, finishing ahead of host Arkansas-Little Rock and Louisiana-Monroe. Western Kentucky leads the field with 262 points and is followed by Denver (158), New Mexico State (127), and Florida International (115).
Pipes led the Mean Green with a fourth-place finish in the 500 Freestyle, recording a school-record time of 5:04.21. Freshman Jaime Hosner claimed fifth place in the event with a time of 5:04.47, the second fastest in North Texas history.
Two of the six events were relays and the Mean Green set season-best time in both, posting a 1:41.33 in the 200 Freestyle Relay and 4:04.11 in the 400 Medley Relay. It’s time in the 400 Medley Relay was the third fastest in school history.
Also performing well for NT was freshman Emilia Tudose, who claimed sixth place in the 50 Freestyle with a season-best time of 24.64. That time is also the fourth fastest ever by a North Texas swimmer. Fellow freshman Gwen Rourke set the team’s season-best mark in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 2:13.58.
The Sun Belt Championships continue tomorrow and wrap up on Saturday.
