Jackson reflects on swim teamâs NCAA finish

Sophomore swimmer Trina Jackson was very pleased with the women's team and its performance at the NCAA Championships over the weekend in Minneapolis.

The Wildcats, competing with only 11 women, finished second in an event where the likes of Stanford (first place) and Georgia (third place) had more competitors.

"We're a small group with a lot of power," Jackson said.

Of the 11, eight scored valuable points for Arizona. The highlight of the event was winning all three freestyle relays - the 800-meter, 400, 200 races. Only Stanford had ever done that before, and that was back in 1982.

"I thought we could finish third," Jackson said. "Our divers came through to win some extra points for us."

Jackson won the 1,650 free in 14:49.25, the fourth fastest time ever, which set a new school record. The sophomore, who also finished third in the 200 butterfly, now has back-to-back national championships in the freestyle distance event.

Back in Tucson, the men's swimming team were cheering on the women, via phone calls from UA head coach Frank Busch or the Internet.

Busch and his coaching staff won't get any rest, as the men's team left yesterday morning for its NCAA Championships in Auburn, Ala., which start Thursday. Meanwhile, the women can relax and offer their support for the men.

Jackson, a Jacksonville, Fla., native, was part of USA's gold medal winning team in the 800 free relay at Atlanta's 1996 Summer Olympics.

Though nothing may ever top winning a gold medal at the Olympics in your home country, doing well at the NCAAs is also important to Jackson.