Southern Illinois University
U.S. Open (at Purdue)
Five Salukis compete in U.S. Swimming Open
12/04/2006 | 12:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
Dec. 4, 2006
By Matt Crouch
www.SIUSalukis.com
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - With the week off from regular team competition, five members of the Southern Illinois University swimming & diving team made their way up to West Lafayette, Ind. to compete in the U.S. Open.
Contested at Purdue University's Boilermaker Aquatic Center, the meet featured some of the best swimmers in the World. Of the field of more than 1,000 swimmers in the three-day meet, 21 are members of the United States national team.
Making the trip and representing Southern Illinois were Julie Ju, Stephan Ackermann, Dennis Hedo, Alexandre Marrucho and Antonio Santoro. Former SIU swimmer and NCAA-qualifier Marcelo Possato also competed in the meet.
The Saluki contingent competed in 16 events at the meet, advancing to the finals in five of them.
Hedo led the way, qualifying for the finals in the 50 Meter Free and the 200 Meter Free. He finished 16th overall in both events, finishing the 50 Free in 23.89 and the 200 Free in 1:54.38.
Santoro was the other current Saluki to make his way to the finals. He qualified for the finals in the 400 Meter Free, finishing 24th with a time of 4:06.76.
Possato turned in finals-qualifying performances in his two events. He finished 14th overall in both the 100 and 200 Meter Back, finishing in 58.64 and 2:06.32, respectively.
The Salukis also banded together to compete in two of the relay events. The team of Possato, Hedo, Ackermann and Santoro finished 13th in the 400 Meter Medley Relay with a time of 3:55.70. Hedo, Marrucho, Santoro and Ackermann then teamed up to finish 14th in the 400 Meter Free Relay with a time of 3:35.28.
The U.S. Open caps off the fall season for the SIU swimming & diving teams. The Salukis will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 13 with their first home meet of the season. SIU will take on Northern Iowa and Evansville in dual meets at SIU's Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium.
Results from the U.S. Open
Stephan Ackermann
- 50 Meter Free - DNQ (50th in prelims)
- 100 Meter Free - DNQ (73rd in prelims)
- 100 Meter Fly - DNQ (69th in prelims)
Dennis Hedo
- 50 Meter Free - 16th, 23.89
- 100 Meter Free - DNQ (30th in prelims)
- 200 Meter Free - 16th, 1:54.38
Julie Ju
- 50 Meter Free - DQ
- 100 Meter Free - DNQ (36th in prelims)
- 100 Meter Breast - DNQ (73rd in prelims)
Alexandre Marrucho
- 100 Meter Back - DNQ (56th in prelims)
- 200 Meter Back - DNQ (39th in prelims)
Marcelo Possato
- 100 Meter Back - 14th, 58.64
- 200 Meter Back - 14th, 2:06.32
Antonio Santoro
- 200 Meter Free - DNQ (29th in prelims)
- 400 Meter Free - 24th, 4:06.76
- 200 Meter Fly - DNQ (29th in prelims)
400 Meter Medley Relay
- 13th (Possato, Hedo, Ackermann, Santoro), 3:55.70
400 Meter Free Relay
- 14th (Hedo, Marrucho, Santoro, Ackermann), 3:35.28
DNQ = Did Not Qualify, The top 24 in each event advance to the finals
DQ - Disqualified
