MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING

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Aviv Oren

BUFFALO, NY - Eight University at Buffalo men's swimmers will be competing this weekend at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships in Federal Way, WA. The national competition, at the Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center, begins on Thursday, Dec. 4 and continues through Saturday, Dec. 6.

For the UB men, Aviv Oren (Rishon Le-Zion, Israel/Makif A'), the UB recordholder and MAC champion, will compete in the 100-meter breaststroke. Oren won the MAC title in the 100-yard distance at the league meet at Alumni Arena in March. He qualified for the U.S. meet with his fifth-place showing at the Israeli National Championships in August. His time, a lifetime-best 1:05.30, ranks him 24th on the psyche sheet among 52 entrants. NCAA finalists Mark Gangloff (Auburn) and Vlad Polyakov (Alabama) rank within the top 10 in the event. Polyakov is expected to compete for his native Russia in the 2004 Olympics.

Wyoming's Scott Usher, who finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Purdue Invitational while Oren won the consolation final, is expected to compete in the 100-meter race. Usher, a Grand Island, NE native, will compete unattached at the meet and is listed fourth on the psyche sheet at 1:01.82, two spots below Gangloff and three spots ahead of Polyakov.

Oren stands a good chance of reaching the finals. "We're hoping he will get back into the finals," said men's head coach Budd Termin. "He's going to have to go a little faster, probably 1:04." Preliminary races will determine the eight competitors for the A, B and C finals. Making the finals after racing in the heats is considered "getting back" in swim terminology.

Mark Sy

Oren will also swim the breaststroke, the second leg of UB's 400-meter medley relay team. He will be joined by backstroker Jeff Hurst (Rochester, NY/Greece-Athena), butterfly specialist Mark Sy (Scarborough, Ontario/Mary Ward CSS) and freestyler Jon Yarger (Centre Hill, PA/Penns Valley). The Bulls will also field a B squad in the event consisting of Kurt Bessel (Mexico, NY/Mexico Academy) in the backstroke, Geoff Wells (Waterville, OH/Anthony Wayne) at breaststroke, Kevin Gatley (Charlton, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) for the butterfly and Alan Lowe (Brownsville, TX/Hanna) in the freestyle portion of the race. Both foursomes qualified for the event with their times at the Purdue Invitational on Nov. 21. The 400-meter medley relay will be the final event of Friday's competition.

"We're looking for the medley relay to get into the scoring," said Termin.

The Bulls will also compete in several time trial events during the three days. Sy, who has set the UB record in the 200-yard butterfly twice this season, is among those expected to race in time trials, aiming to earn Canadian National qualifying times and a possible shot at representing Canada at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

"Mark Sy has swum just off his Olympic qualifying time in the 100 and 200 butterfly," said Termin.

Because the event is a long course meters meet, it is important for the Canadian swimmers competing at American schools, including Sy, to do well at the U.S. Open. Canada only recognizes performances in meters and not yards, which is what the Bulls and all other NCAA programs compete at during the season.

At least 15 U.S. Olympians from the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia as well as four foreign competitors headline the list of swimmers expected in the three-day meet, considered the third-fastest meet behind the Olympics and the NCAA Championships. The Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way was built for the 1990 Seattle Goodwill Games and is midway between Tacoma and Seattle.

Preliminary competition begins at 9 am Pacific Time (noon Eastern) with finals starting at 6 pm Pacific Time (9 pm Eastern).