Water aerobics

FAMU’s swimming and diving team held its annual Orange and Green meet Saturday. The Green Team was victorious with 900 points, while the Orange Team trailed behind with 769 points.

According to Coach Mark Howell, the meet was an opportunity for the swimmers to see what times they have posted after the preseason workouts.  He said it also lets them recognize what needs to be improved before the official swim meet season begins Oct. 10 against Miami.

This year’s meet provided thrills for the enthusiastic fans that were in attendance.

“This was my first meet and I enjoyed it,” said David Robinson, a senior chemical engineering student from St. Louis. “Next time, I’m going to bring as many people out that I can.”

Putting on a show for the spectators were the freshmen who won several of the events. For the Green Team, Luis Leon won the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 21.99. Winning the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke were Green Team members Tommie Kennedy (5:39.19) and Douglas Cross (2:25.10), respectively.

Orange Team freshman, Nyisha Green-Washington, dominated the waters. Her times of 2:05.20 in the 200-yard freestyle, 2:21.13 in the 200 individual medley and 56.12 in the 100-yard freestyle events were enough to secure top finishes.

Not to be outdone, the upperclassmen held their own. Junior Brandon Little won the 100-yard freestyle event in 50.62 seconds.

Seniors Torrence Ford and Doug Carrington also secured points for their respective teams. Ford gained points by winning both the 200-yard IM (2:16.03) and the 200-yard butterfly (2:09.81) for the Orange Team. Carrington won points for the Green Team as he won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:57.00 and the 200-yard backstroke in 2:15.90.

Arie Muhammad had three first place finishes for the green team. Muhammad, a junior, won the 50-yard freestyle (25.35), 200-yard backstroke (2:15.79) and 200-yard breaststroke events (2:40.04). Sophomore Melissa Bardowell brought points to the Orange Team with her victory in the 500-yard freestyle.

Damien Terry, a sophomore pharmacy student from Houston was pleased with his performance.  Terry was one of two divers in the competition.

“It was way better than what I expected today,” Terry said. “In the long run, I’m improving. With the track I’m on right now, I’ll be where I need to be for conference time.”

Howell said the teams’ performances were good, but there was more work needed. “Everybody’s conditioning was pretty good,” Howell said.  “Some team members are making mistakes that could get them disqualified in official competition. We need to do some fine-tuning, but everyone will be fine by the time we are ready to compete.”

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