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Women's swim team falls short in upset bid

In a battle of the nation's top two women's swimming and diving teams, No. 1 Georgia's depth was too much for the Wildcats as they defeated Arizona 165-135 on Friday.

The Bulldogs were lead by senior Kristi Kowal, who defeated UA freshman Amanda Beard in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke.

"Georgia gave our girls swimming lessons," Arizona head coach Frank Busch said.

The Bulldogs won five of the first seven events, opening up an early 15 point lead at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. The Wildcats managed to stay close thanks to the successes of Beth Botsford and Erin Vogt, who were the only swimmers to earn first place finishes.

Botsford was triumphant in both the 100 and 200 backstroke races. Both of Botsford's times were NCAA Tournament automatic qualifying times.

Vogt won the 200 butterfly with a finishing time nearly three seconds faster than the second place finisher.

In the final seven events, however, Georgia dominated the Wildcats by receiving most of the first and second place finishes.

Even though the Bulldogs won 11 of the 14 races, the Wildcats had a chance to make the meet a lot closer, but were unable to lock down several of the close finishes between second and third place.

A bright spot for the Wildcats was the diving team, which dominated the Bulldogs in both dive competitions. Led by Lindsay Berryman and Adrian David, the Wildcats swept the first four positions in the one- and three-meter events. Berryman won both events while David came in second.

After its loss to the top ranked Bulldogs, the Wildcats came back Saturday to dominate the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, 158 -107. The win improved the team's dual meet record to 6-1, 1-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

The Wildcats were lead by senior All-American Trina Jackson, who captured two first place finishes in the 100 fly and 100 free, and freshman Julie Manitt also won the 100 and 200 backstroke. Also, the diving team swept the one meter competition and they received three of the four spots in the three meter competition.

"After a tough loss, it always helps our confidence level to dominate another team," Vogt said. "The loss to Georgia made us realize where we are at as a team,"

Both the Arizona men's and women's teams next compete Friday at No. 5 California.