Seven Athletes Qualify for the NCAA Championships

PROVO -- After winning their fourth consecutive Mountain West Conference title, the BYU men's and women's swimming and diving teams are sending a combined seven athletes to the NCAA Championships.

The women will be sending three athletes, seniors Cortnee Adams and Kelli Einfeldt and junior Tamber Covington. Adams, a former All-American, qualified to compete in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events, as well as the 100-yard fly event. Covington will be competing in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. After placing 10th at the Zone E Qualifying round, Einfeldt qualified for the 1-M diving event.

The women's NCAA Championships will be held Thursday thru Saturday, March 20-22 at the Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.

On the men's side, the team qualified four athletes for the NCAA Championships, seniors Aaron Russell and Justin Beardall, and junior Randy Belliston and sophomore Scott Randall. Russell, Beardall and Randall all qualified for the NCAA Championships after their performances at the Zone E Diving Qualifying round. Russell, a two-time All-American, finished second in the 3-M and third in the 1-M at zones, Beardall finished second in the 1-M and eighth in the 3-M, as Randall captured a fourth place finish in the 3-M and a respectable 17th place finish in the 1-M at zones. Belliston will be representing the BYU swimmers as he qualified for three events, the 200 and 400-yard IM and the 200-yard breaststroke.

The men's NCAA Championships run March 27-29 at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas.