Completed Event: Men's Swimming & Diving versus NCAA Championships on March 28, 2026 ,
Final Score
Men's Swimming & Diving
vs NCAA Championships
The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Swimming MWC Championship Preview
2/20/2007 12:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 20, 2007
2007 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The University of Utah men's and women's swimming and diving teams will head to Oklahoma City, Okla., for the 2007 Mountain West Conference Championships on Feb. 21-24. The meet will be hosted, for the eighth straight year by Oklahoma City Community College at the Aquatic Center in Oklahoma City.
The Ute women are fresh off winning their fourth consecutive regular season conference crown with a 10-0 overall record an 8-0 tally in MWC competition. The 2006 MWC Championships marked the first time Utah has won the conference championship in school history and they will be pursuing its second straight title with a strong senior class which was unbeatable during the season. In last year's championship meet, the women scored 679.5 points and won by 71 points over second-place BYU.
For the Utah men, the MWC Championships provide a chance to make a statement that the future is bright for the Utes. The team finished at 5-6 overall and 2-3 in MWC competition, but has shown signs of improvement winning two of its last three meets and upsetting Air Force in the process. Last season at the MWC Championships, Utah placed fifth with 513 points.
UTE NOTES:
Utah's women will come in with several of the top swimmers in the conference looking to earn a second MWC Championship in a row. The swimmers to watch for Utah include; Amber Walter, who already qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 50 free and will be doing her final preparation for the NCAA's. She also looks to boost the Utes in the relay and sprint freestyle events. Alison McInturff will be looking to improve on her provisional NCAA qualifying time in the 200 free and also be a contender in the 200 IM for Utah as well. Also, expect to see fast times from Ute swimmers Jennifer Fredsall, Rachel Curci and Shannon McQueen. The women will also need a big performance from diver, Kelsey Patterson to help boost points on the diving front.
The Ute men will rely on their depth to contend for the conference crown this season. Utah doesn't have the dominant performers that other teams feature but will have several athletes that can get points in each event. Andrew Jones will be the feature diver for the men and won the MWC Diver of the Week Award earlier this season. Jones will represent Utah in the one-meter, three-meter and platform diving events. Andrew Cole finished with the fastest time in the MWC 200 back last season and will hope to duplicate that performance again this year. The distance freestyle has been solid all year for Utah and the combination of Marco Ferraro, Jeremy Clark and Adam Oliver has been among the top-8 contenders in the conference all year. Also, Seamus Alger will power the Utes in the IM, while Michel DeCarolis will lead the team in the breaststroke events.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
The women's draw should feature a three-team race for the crown, with the Utes right in the mix for their second championship. BYU and UNLV will be the other two schools that look to be contenders over the four-day conference championships. Each team brings a different strength into the meet which means points in every event will be at a premium. Utah comes in very strong in the relays and also the sprint events. BYU will be bringing six divers to the Championships and looks to make its move on the boards, while UNLV has strong middle distance and IM capabilities.
For the Men, the favorites will be BYU, UNLV and Air Force. UNLV has won the last two MWC Championships and looks for a third, while BYU tied them with a regular season record of 4-1. Air Force has lingered around the top-25 in the nation for most of the season as well. Utah will hope to improve on its strong finish and could be a surprise contender as well.
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH Michael Litzinger:
"The women will be pursing their second title in Oklahoma City. We will look to really be aggressive and we're not just going to defend the title or protect it, but to really go all-out every event. We're excited to compete and feel very comfortable in the pool in Oklahoma City. The MWC Championships have become one of the fastest championships in the nation on the women's side.
"The men finished strong and hope to continue that and be in the mix for the championship. We've trained very hard and really improved in the second semester. Right now we are really swimming up to our potential and that comes at a perfect time for the Championships. I'm confident that our depth will show through over the four days of competition."
Players Mentioned
Backstroke/Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Breast/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & DivingHear It From Harlan with Utah Diving's Holly Waxman
Monday, April 22
Jaek Horner becomes the FIRST Ute on record to earn Pac-12 Swimmer of the Week two weeks in a row!
Wednesday, February 21
Good Luck to Swimming and Diving at the Pac-12 Championships
Tuesday, February 21
Utah Swimming and Diving Beats BYU in Dual Meet
Tuesday, January 24