HOUSTON, Texas ? With three days down and one remaining at the 2009 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships in Houston, TX, the UC San Diego Women and Men held firm in third and sixth place respectively. The Triton women have now accumulated 318 points and appear all but assured finishing at least third. First place Drury has 417 points, followed by Wayne State at 343 with fourth place Truman State nearly 70 points behind UCSD. On the men's side, UCSD's 182.5 points puts it in the midst of a tight struggle where just 31 points separate fifth from ninth. Wayne State, with 404.5 pts. leads the pack.

Coach Scott McGihon's squad came out of Friday's competition with three additional school records to add to the haul of 11 over the first two days as well as a pair of top four relay finishes. The 11th-year head coach described himself as “moderately satisfied” with his team's performance.

“We actually had a number of great swims and the two high quality relay efforts put an exclamation point at the end of the day,” he said after more reflection. “The initial reaction probably says more about where we are and where are expectations are than anything else.”

Freshman Alex Henley and senior Kneif Lohse got things going early. The precocious Henley, making her third individual final of the meet, swam the third fastest time in school history (4:56.35) while finishing fifth in the 500 freestyle. In the same event for the men, Lohse took sixth, clocking 4:29.6 after snagging his third school mark of the meet with an ultra-quick 4:26.81in the prelims. He was disappointed about his performance in the finals.

“I think that's the first time in my life I've gone slower in the finals than the prelims,” he lamented. “I was stoked about my morning swim, it was exactly what I wanted to do and I thought I had a legit chance at a national championship. I think I just went out too fast.”

The Triton women continued to pile up points in the individual events. Sophomore Anju Shimura (55.76) and freshman Shea Kopp (57.02) were fourth and 11th in the 100 backstroke, senior Jenn Sims (2:02.84) and junior Cari Cunningham (2:06.72) placed sixth and 15th in the 200 butterfly and senior Kendall Bohn, the defending NCAA champion in the 200 breaststroke (which she'll swim Saturday night), led three UCSD point scorers in the 100 breaststroke.

The fastest qualifier in the prelims, Bohn was second in a multi-swimmer photo finish, posting a time of 1:03.10. A repeat of her morning mark (1:02.99) would have given her the championship. Freshman Mercedes O'Brien put on a good show out of Lane eight in her first NCAA final, grabbing fifth (1:03.61) and another freshman, Neda Nguyen was 13th. Bohn was upset at the missed opportunity but philosophical afterward.

“That race was all sorts of crazy,” said the Manhattan Beach native. “I was really excited and just lost focus a little. I was thinking about racing and didn't concentrate enough on my turns which were not well-timed?but it was fun and I'll take second place. That's not bad.”

Two Triton men finished 11th while swimming in consolation finals?senior Steven Hardy in the 100 backstroke (49.87) and junior Juan Pablo Carrillo in the 100 breaststroke (56.32). It was a breakthrough for Hardy who dipped under the 50-second barrier for the first time.

Earlier in the day, sophomore diver Kevin Sullivan had another solid outing, registering 359 points to finish 11th on the one-meter board. He placed 10th on the three-meter on Wednesday.

The concluding 800 freestyle relays showed the Tritons at their record-breaking best. The women's unit of seniors Aubrey Panis and Errin Deters and sophomores Anju Shimura and Ashtyn Douglas smashed the school record by more than four seconds (7:23.54) but had to settle for second. Drury, which had posted a 7:21.89 mark in a timed morning heat, got the crown with being there to provide competition as Deters steamed home on the anchor leg, far ahead of her in-pool rivals.

The men's quartet?junior Todd Langland, sophomore Brandon Maryatt, freshman Michael Lorch and Lohse in the anchor slot?outswam its eighth seed, setting a new UCSD standard of 6:39.34 while netting fourth place. For Lohse, it was a fitting way to wrap up day three.

“It was nice to end on a high note, especially as part of a relay team in a dogfight,” said the free-spirited senior. “Brandon and Michael needed some hardware and it was my duty to close it out strong.”

Tomorrow's fourth and final day at University of Houston's CRWC Natatorium will include the 1,650 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, women's three-meter diving and the 400 freestyle relay.