Piper Takes First and Advances to World Championships
April 01, 2005 | Men's Swimming & Diving
On the first day of the World Championship Trials, UW senior Carly Piper took first in the 400-meter freestyle to advance and represent the USA in the World Championships. Piper won in a time of 4:11.05, beating her first place qualifying time by over a second (4:12.59).
'We are so proud of Carly, she has done such a good job, ' said head coach Eric Hansen. 'Carly representing the USA for the second time is a great feat.'
Piper will now represent the USA for the second year in a row at the World Championships later this summer in Montreal.
Senior Tim Liebhold took fifth in the 400-meter IM in a time of 4:22.03. After placing fifth in the World Championship Trials, Liebhold has a good shot to advance to the World University Games, which will give him another chance to qualify for the World Championships.
'Timmy has a great shot to make it to the World University Games,' said Hansen. 'He swam so inspired, and we are all very proud of him.'
Also representing Wisconsin was Bethany Pendleton, Susan Johnson and Dale Rodgers. Pendleton took 16th in the finals of the 200-meter IM (2:19.82) after placing 13th in the prelims earlier in the morning.
Rodgers took 23rd in the prelims of the 100-meter breast with a time of 1:05.37, but did not advance to the finals. Johnson took 35th in prelims of the 100-meter butterfly in a time of 1:02.93, and also did not advance to the finals.
