By Gavin Lapaille
University of Louisville sophomore swimmer Vali Preda represented the Cards at the NCAA Division I men’s swimming and diving championship two weeks ago at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn. There, he competed in three events, earning his third All-American honors while scoring three points to give U of L a 36th place finish.
Preda qualified for the NCAA championships after adding wins in the 200-breast and 200-individual medley to his resumé, while also finishing as runner up in the 100-breast at the Big East championships. Besides the All-American honors, Preda has also captured five Big East titles in his two years of swimming for the Cards.
“This is by far the fastest NCAA meet in history,” said U of L head coach Arthur Albiero. “It was just neat to not just be a part of that, but to be competing in the midst of it. It was definitely an awesome weekend in Minneapolis.”
Preda took 41st in the 200-IM, touching in at 1:50.19 in his first race of the meet. The University of Arizona’s Adam Ritter won the race with a time of 1:41.72.
In his second event, Preda swam to a 13th place finish in the 100-breast prelims to qualify for the “B” finals with a time of 53.63, setting a lifetime best and breaking his own school record.
In the finals Preda finished 14th, hitting the wall in 53.78 to earn U of L its first and only points of the meet.
“The 100-breast is an event we knew Vali had improved the most in since he had been a part of our program,” said Albiero. “We knew he would need pretty close to a lifetime best to make the finals, and he delivered.”
Preda finished 18th in the 200-breast to wrap up the meet for the Cards, touching in at 1:58.11.
This is the second year in a row Preda has been the lone U of L qualifier for the NCAA championships. Last year, Preda qualified for three events as well at the Big East championships, choosing to swim in only the 100 and 200-breast. He finished 13th in the 100-breast and 16th in the 200-breast, helping him become U of L’s freshman athlete of the year.
“I’m so proud to be a part of this program,” said Albiero. “This is the third season we have been ranked among the very best in the country and I think that speaks volume of the work our staff and athletes have put in. Even though we have come a long way in a short four years, I am very excited about the near future of our program and with the returning group, and I look forward to a very special season for us next year.”
Hailing from Brailia, Romania, Preda has a vast amount of international experience and is a key member of the Romanian national squad. At the European championships last year in Budapest, Hungary, Preda helped set a new national record for the Romanians in the 4×100 meter relay, as his split time of 1:00.93 was the sixth fastest split at the championships. He also finished 11th at the LEN European championships with a time of 1:01.63 in the 100-breast.
Preda holds both the Romania long course and short course national records in the 200-breast. Preda set the long course record with a time of 2:15.20 while breaking the short course record at a meet in Vienna where he swam a 2:11.33, earning a top 25 ranking in Europe in both events. He is also the national record holder in the short course 100-breast with a time of 1:01.10, ranking him 48th in Europe.
Preda will travel to Melbourne, Australia, to compete in the 2007 FINA championships. He will swim in the 50-breast, 100-breast and 200-breast for Romania, while also being a member of the medley relay teams.
“This is a special time in his career to be part of this,” said Albiero. “This is a qualifying meet for the Olympics and is a great opportunity to stamp his ticket for Bejing.”
