Kuzhil, Payne Qualify for NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships
March 4, 2011
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Senior Iuliia Kuzhil and junior Stephanie Payne will represent the University of Kansas swimming and diving team at the 2011 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships March 11-19 in Austin, Texas. Kuzhil will compete in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events, while Payne is the fourth alternate for the 400-yard IM. If Payne is selected for the 400 IM, she will also compete in the 200-yard IM and the 200-yard butterfly.
“We are very happy about Iuliia’s invitation to the 2011 NCAA Championships,” Kansas head coach Clark Campbell said. “She did not prepare fully for Big 12s, so we hope to go faster than we did at the Georgia Invitational in the fall. Stephanie will be sitting on pins and needles waiting to see if she is picked up for the meet. Overall, we’re pleased we had 12 athletes with ‘B’ time standards and it reflects that the state of women’s swimming is very strong and fast.”
Kuzhil, a senior from Cherkasy, Ukraine, placed ninth in the 100 backstroke at the Big 12 Championships with a time of 53.64 and 12th in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:57.41. This will be her third consecutive trip to the National Championships.
Payne, a junior from Derby, Kan., broke two Kansas records for the 400 IM and 200 buttefly at the Big 12s. She took fourth in the 400 IM with a time of 4:11.94 and fifth in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:59.07.
