Oct. 9, 2007

Coming off the program's highest-ever finish at a conference championship, a second place at the C-USA meet a year ago, the only real question for the Rice swim team in 2007-08 is what is the team going to do for an encore?

The Owls sent something of a shock wave through the college swimming circles, posting their best league finish in 25 years of competition at the Division I level - a time span that preceded the birthday of every member of the current team. The good news for Rice head coach Seth Huston is that the Owls have lost only one senior from last year's elite team and the squad welcomes back 16 experienced letterwinners and some some talented newcomers. Huston likes the team's potential in 2007-08.

"We have a fantastic group of young women this year," said Huston, now in his seventh year at the helm of the program. "We have the most depth since I've been here. Hopefully that will help our versatility in dual meets and our ability to score big in the finals at the C-USA Championships."

Here's a look at the Owls event-by-event.

FREESTYLE
From the 50 to the mile, the Owls will be very competitive. With the veteran duo of senior Brittany Massengale and junior Caitlin Warner leading the way, the Owls are particularly tough in the distance events. Both have qualified to compete in the United States World Open Water Championship Trials with a chance to make the U.S. national team for the Beijing Olympics. Massengale is the Rice record holder in the 500, the 1,000 and the mile. Warner has improved every year and proved to be a big scorer for the team at the annual C-USA meet. Freshman Karen Gerken is an all-state honoree who can contribute in the distance events, particularly in the 500.

Massengale is a renown C-USA distance swimmer, but she showed versatility by posting the second-fastest 100-free time on the team last year. As if that's not enough for dual meet opponents to think about, the Owls also have the reliable sprinting duo of juniors Carlyann Miller and Diane Gu. Gu won the silver medal in the 50 at the C-USA championships with the Owls' best mark of the year. The standout from Orlando, Fla., was an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships two years ago as a freshman. Miller proved to be the team's top performer in the 100 for the second year in a row and her 1:49.91 in the 200 is the fourth-fastest time in school history.

Versatile veterans like Skylar Craig, Keri Hyde, Megan Land, Erin Mattson, Pam Zelnick and Stephanie Eberhardt, will contribute in the freestyle events. A few of the newcomers, like freshman Sally DeWitt, may get some work here as well.

Erin Mattson is the defending C-USA champion in the 200-butterfly.

BUTTERFLY
Led by sophomore Erin Mattson, the 2007 C-USA champion in the 200-butterly, the Owls have a wealth of talented flyers returning to the blocks this season. Mattson became the Owls' first individual champion at a conference meet since 2003 with one of the top times in the 200 (2:01.94) in school history. The Illinois native is also a steady performer in the 100, but it was junior Skylar Craig who had the team's top mark in this event to take third at C-USA meet. Also keep an eye on Angela Wo, a sophomore who missed the first half of last season with an injury but still scored for the team in both butterfly events at the conference meet. Now back to full health, Wo should be an even bigger factor in her second season at the Division I level. Juniors Natalie Kirchhoff and Keri Hyde can be expected to continue scoring in the butterfly like they have done the previous two seasons. Newcomer Sally DeWitt could help the team here as well and give coach Huston some flexibility in the lineup.

BACKSTROKE
The Owls may have had five different swimmers score in each C-USA butterfly event, but backstroke is where the Blue & Gray made the biggest strides and provided an even heavier scoring punch. Four Owls finished among the top nine in the 100-back and four placed in the top six of the 200. Craig won the C-USA silver medal in the 100 with the team's top time of the year (56.95) and she took fourth in the 200. Junior Keri Hyde was fourth in the league in the 100 and fifth in the 200. Sophomore Justine Lin was third in the 200 with the fourth-best time in school history and she was fifth in the C-USA 100. Angela Wo won the C-USA's consolation finals of the 100 as a freshman last season. The new freshmen to watch out for in the backstroke are Kait Chura of Bozeman, Montana, and Sarah Korellis of Champaign, Ill. Rice will be without senior speedster Amy Halsey due to an injury.

BREASTSTROKE
A year ago the freshman trio of Stephanie Eberhardt, Allyson Lemay and Pam Zelnick made strides in the breaststroke events. There's every reason to expect more improvements from the sophomore group this season. Zelnick posted the team's top times in both events and her 1:05.24 in the 100 is one of the top marks in Rice history. Lemay gained some quality experience in her first season of competition at the Division I level as did Eberhardt. Mix in freshman Ashten Ackerman, a high school star from Kissimmee, Fla., and Rice will be sound and solid in the breaststroke events.

INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Of all the events, the individual medley may simultaneously be the most unpredictable and wide open. Standout Jennifer Hill had the Owls' top times in both the 200 and 400 last season, but the senior from Knoxville, Tenn., will undergo a redshirt season due to injury. Natalie Kirchhoff and Stephanie Eberhardt improved over the course of the year and helped the team, but coach Huston may look to as many as three freshman in 2007-08. Ackerman, Chura and Korellis are all accomplished IM racers from the high school and club ranks and could see plenty of action right away.

RELAYS
It's pretty obvious that great individual talent can make for some eye-opening relays, and that is sure to be the case for Rice this season. In the 200-medley the team of Hyde, Zelnick, Craig and Gu shattered the previous school record with a new time of 1:43.70. Miller replaced Gu for the 400-medley and that foursome went on to win the first conference relay championship in school history. The three freestyle relays that were each among the best in school history are all back together again with the same personnel. Rice's 400-free relay has a great chance to move from second to first in the record books and the 800 team of Mattson, Massengale, Miller and Warner may be on a mission to crack the school record that was set more than 10 years ago.

SEASON SCHEDULE
The Owls have another challenging but potentially rewarding schedule. The team opens with a trip to Las Cruces, N.M., in the second week of October for a double-dual against Northern Colorado and meet host New Mexico State. Rice returns to Houston to face five teams as part of the Phill Hansel Duals at the end of the month before the Speedo Cup in Irvine, Calif., in November. Next, the Blue & Gray heads back to Florida in December for its annual winter training.

The spring starts with a dual meet against national power Texas A&M followed by a trip to the Dallas Metroplex for meets against SMU and North Texas. Rice tangles with crosstown foe Houston one more time as part of a double-dual with LSU. The team will host the University of New Orleans before wrapping up the season at the C-USA Championships across town at UH. The NCAA Championships are in Columbus at Ohio State University in March.

"I know we have the talent to score at the NCAA Championships," Huston said. "We just have to do what it takes as a team to achieve this goal; be confident, consistent and stay healthy."

Scoring at the NCAAs is a fitting encore where the Owls will take their bows.