Women's 200 free relay team wins Texas Invite, breaks school record

AUSTIN, Texas - The Arizona State men and women's swimming teams set their names in ASU's record books as they competed in the finals of day one of the Texas Invitational. The Texas Invitational features some of the top swimming programs in college swimming.

The women's 200 free relay team won the Texas Invite, beating out last year's NCAA Champions in the event, Arizona. With a time of 1:29.87, the team of Caitlin Andrew, Jen Beckberger, Lindsey Brown and Jess Perazzo also set a new ASU record in the event. Their time also automatically qualifies them for the NCAA Championships.

The men's 200 free relay time earned an NCAA consideration time. The team of Steve Neuwert, Magnus Kjellberg, Mohammed Madwa and Ante Cvitkovic touched 1:20.64, good enough to finish sixth.

In the women's 500 free, Shannon Garrett finished in 4:53.46, an NCAA consideration time. Her time placed her at sixth in her final and fourteenth overall. Christine Mauro finished fifteenth overall in 4:59.77.

Andrew, who placed third at last year's NCAA Championships, finished runner-up overall in the 100 fly. She clocked in a time of 52.89, an NCAA automatic qualifying time and her season-best. Ashton Aubry earned an automatic qualifying time and a personal best by winning the "B" final and placing ninth overall. Her time of 53.42 is also the third fastest 100 fly time by a Sun Devil. Jamie Martinez finished first in the "D" final with a time of 55.57.

John Dwelley won the men's 100 fly "C" final with an NCAA consideration time of 47.97, placing him at 17th overall. Sean Boyle also earned an NCAA consideration time, finishing third in the "C" final with a time of 48.81.

In the men's 500 free, CJ Nuess placed third overall. His time of 4:20.81 was under the NCAA consideration mark. Adrian Kirkpatrick placed fifth in the "C" final with a time of 4:33.62. Vinicius Waked clocked in a time of 4:37.02 to place him at seventh in the "C" final.

Ashley Evans swam a 2:00.95 to finish third in the "B" final. Her time also set her under the NCAA consideration standard. On the men's side, Nuess won the men's "C" final with a time 1:49.14, an NCAA consideration time.

Beckberger earned her second NCAA consideration time in the 50 free of the day by placing fourth overall. She touched in at 22.64, a personal best for the sophomore. Perazzo won the "B" final by clocking in a time of 22.74, an NCAA consideration time and personal best for the sophomore. Beckberger's time is now tied for the second fastest 50 free time by a Sun Devil. She is only behind current teammate, Caitlin Andrew. Perazzo's time puts her as the third fastest Sun Devil in the 50 free. Brown placed second in the "C" final with a time of 23.34.

On the men's side, former Sun Devil All-American, current ASU assistant coach and Olympic hopeful Nick Brunelli tied for first in the 50 free, clocking in a time of 19.17. Neuwert and Madwa came in one and two in the "C" final. Neuwert's time of 20.11 was below the NCAA consideration standard while Madwa finished in 20.23.

In the women's 400 medley relay, the Sun Devils' "A" team took third overall. The quadrant of Andrew, McDaniel, Aubry and Beckberger clocked in an NCAA consideration time of 3:40.84. The men's team also earned an NCAA consideration time. Cvitkovic, Eddy Salcido, Dwelley and Madwa touched in at 3:15.23 to place fifth.

The action at the Texas Invitational continues tomorrow, beginning at 10:00 a.m. CT. The Ohio State Invitational for the diving teams will start tomorrow.