March 25, 2007
Sophomore Dong Kim (Bucks Co., Pa.) and sophomore Eric Cullen (Severn, Md.) are set to compete at the USA Swimming Spring National Championships this weekend. The meet will begin Tuesday, March 27th and will run through Saturday, March 31st in East Meadow, N.Y. at the Nassau County Aquatic Center.
Kim is coming off a successful showing at the 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. Kim qualified for the consolation final and finished ninth overall in the 50-yard freestyle (20.20) with a career-best time. His top finish at ACCs was in the 100 free, where he swam an NCAA B-cut time of 44.57 for third place in the championship final. In the consolation final for the 100 backstroke, Kim broke the school record for the event after swimming a 48.93 for ninth place. Kim scored team points for Maryland in all three events.
Cullen also enters the Spring National Championships after a positive finish to the 2006-07 season at this year's ACC Championships. Cullen was a consolation finalist in both the 100 breaststroke and 200 breast at ACCs, scoring crucial team points for the Terrapins. He placed 12th overall in the 100 breast swimming a career-best time of 56.44. Cullen also notched a career-best time of 2:03.16 in the prelims for the 200 breast and finished 13th overall in the consolation final for the event (2:03.21). Cullen also established a third career-best time at ACCs with his 27th-place finish in the 200 individual medley (1:52.83).
Kim will swim the 100-meter freestyle (Day Two; March 28th) and 100 backstroke (Day Four; March 30th) and Cullen will swim the 100 breaststroke (Day Four; March 30th) and 200 breast (Day Two; March 28th) at the Spring National Championships.
