March 26, 2003
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech standout distance swimmers Shilo Ayalon and Sam Morgan open the 2003 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center in Austin. This year marks the third consecutive season that the Jackets have sent multiple swimmers to the final weekend of collegiate competition.
Ayalon, a two-time All-American and the first Tech swimmer to compete in three NCAA Championships, will swim the 500- and 1650-yard freestyle, as well as the 400 individual medley, while Morgan will go in the 500 and 1650 free. The 500 free is scheduled for Thursday with the 400 IM slated for Friday. Prelims are at 11 a.m. CT followed by finals at 7 p.m. The 1650 free opens Saturday’s evening session.
On the strength of Ayalon’s eighth-place finish in the 1650 free a year ago, Tech finished in 27th place after placing 29th a year ago. The Jackets are poised for a big finish this season as Ayalon enters the meet with the nation’s second-fastest time in the 1650 free. His swim of 14:47.99 won the Atlantic Coast Conference title in the event and set school and league records. The Most Valuable Swimmer of the 2003 ACC Championships, Ayalon also earned conference runner-up finishes in the 500 free and 400 IM and set school records in five individual events. He is currently ranked 11th nationally in the 500 free and 16th in the 400 IM. The top 16 finishers in each event score points for their team.
Morgan, who finished fifth at the conference championships in both the 500 and 1650 free, is the first freshman in school history to reach the NCAA Championships. His top performance of 15:12.95 in the 1650 free ranks 20th nationally. Morgan’s top 500 free swim (4:24.60) also came at the conference meet.
While this weekend marks the end of the college season, 15 Tech swimmers are slated to compete in the 2003 ConocoPhillips Spring National Championships, April 1-5 in Indianapolis.
-GT-
