March 28, 2000

Orlando, Fla. - UIC swimmer Paul Torres thought he had given everything he had at the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Swimming and Diving Championships a few weeks back. He even told Head Coach John Christie that he didn't have enough in the tank to compete well at the Speedo/United States Junior National Championships in Orlando, Fla.

Torres, however, proved himself wrong as the sophomore shattered two school records in the Sunshine State, while teammates Tom Schwingen and David Kimmerly also had respectable finishes for the Flames.

"I'm really proud of Paul," Christie said. "He told me he had put everything into conference, but I knew he'd do well at the junior nationals."

Torres swam to a 2:06:07 in the 200 breaststroke trials, which placed him into ninth, one spot shy of making the finals. He did, however, make the consolation finals and then lowered his time down to 2:02.75, good enough to break Diego Lora Coronado's old school mark, and it would have placed him third overall if he were to have competed in the final.

Torres also broke his own school record in the 400 IM by nearly three seconds. His time of 4:00.69 was good enough for an eighth-place finish. He also placed 19th in the 200 IM.

Schwingen competed in the 100 and 50 freestyle events, but was just off his times from the MCC Championships, thus not making the finals.

Kimmerly battled a viral respiratory infection and competed valiantly in the 200 backstroke, but finished in the bottom half.

"I wasn't disappointed with anyone," Christie said. "There were always over 15 athletes in an event, and you have to be right on, so I thought we did well."

Bobby Allison was also scheduled to compete but did not make the trip due to academic priorities.