Badgers in the water
June 29, 2008 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The University of Wisconsin swimming program was well-represented on the opening day of the U.S. Olympic Trials, with five current and former Badgers competing Sunday at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.
UW alumnus Dale Rogers had the best showing of any of those with Badger ties, posting the 18th-fastest time in the preliminaries of the men's 100-meter breaststroke in 1:02.61. He just missed a berth in Sunday evening's semifinals, however, as the top 16 competitors advanced to the semis.
Rogers' time greatly improved on the 1:03.90 that had him seeded 40th entering the event. Ryan Lochte was fastest in the prelims with a time of 4:13.38.
Another former Badger, Kevin Zakrzewski, also took part in the 100 breaststroke prelims and finished with the 60th-best time (1:04.76), while UW junior-to-be Dan Koenig improved on his No. 82 seed to finish 58th overall in the prelims in 1:04.67.
Recent graduate Brett Koerten also posted an impressive improvement in the men 's 400 individual medley, clocking the 40th-fastest prelims time in 4:28.45. The time cut better than a second off the mark of 4:29.58 that had Koerten seeded 54th entering the Trials. Brendan Hansen owned the fastest time of the prelims at 59.84.
Katie Imhoff-Smith, a May graduate of the UW, competed in the women's 100 butterfly and was 89th-fastest in 1:02.19. Christine Magnuson posted the top time in 57.84.
A number of swimmers with ties to the Badgers program will compete as the Trials continue Monday, led by 2004 Olympic gold medal winner Carly Piper, who is seeded seventh entering the prelims of the women's 400 freestyle, and Adam Mania, who owns the No. 13 seed time in the men's 100 backstroke.
Complete results are available here .
