Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Swimming Alum featured in FAMU NEWS!

Former Head Coach, Alum and swimmer Douglas R. Carrington makes the Rattler news with his wife and their work in Egypt this past summer...Check out the article!

Alums participate in archeology project in Egypt

Renita Canady and Douglas Carrington’s love story is like that of many FAMU alumni who came before them. They attended FAMU, met, fell in love and got married. However, when it came time for them to celebrate their first anniversary, they did something decidedly different from most couples — they volunteered for an archeology mission in central Egypt.

“We have both always dreamed of traveling to the land of antiquities and literally walking in the footsteps of our ancient ancestors,” said Canady. “So when the opportunity arose for us to go to Egypt with this mission, we jumped at the chance.”

Her husband agreed.

“I wanted this trip to allow me to live out a trip like an Indiana Jones adventure,” he said.


The mission the couple participated in was the Asa G. Hilard South Asasif Conservation mission funded by the ASA Restoration Project. Dr. Elena Pischikova, an Egyptologist and an authority on Egyptian and Kushite Art of the Late Kingdom, founded the South Asasif Conservation Project. Author and historian Anthony Browder was conducting his annual Egyptian tour in the summer of 2008 when he was introduced to Pischikova. While touring the South Asasif excavation sites, he immediately recognized the importance of her discoveries and made a commitment to support her work.

During the fall after the 2010 season, Browder made a presentation in Washington, DC. He described the findings during that summer’s mission in Egypt by the ASA Restoration Project to local community members. That day, Renita and Doug were in the audience and were captivated by those findings.

“After that presentation, we knew we were going to Kemet (Egypt)!” Doug recalls.

The couple spent two weeks at the South Asasif excavation site. They spent their days handling millennia-old temple artifacts and touring the site’s burial chambers. They roamed the streets of Luxor in the afternoon and evenings, allowing them the opportunity to visit the Valley of the Kings, the famed Temple of Karnak, and dined on the banks of the Nile River.

Canady earned her master’s in business administration from the FAMU School of Business and Industry in 2009. Carrington earned bachelor’s degrees in computer engineering and electrical engineering from the FAMU-Florida State University College of Engineering in 2005. He later served as assistant and then head coach for the swim team.

The duo is currently planning to return to Egypt this summer to continue working on the project.

“The tomb excavation is nearly complete,” he said. I am interested in working with the team to plan and execute the restoration of the tomb site. Also, the temple facility has been found and I would be part of that excavation and restoration. We also are going to take a cruise – maybe down the Nile – and celebrate our second wedding anniversary!”

To learn more about the ASA Restoration Project and potential volunteering opportunities, visit http://www.asarestorationproject.com.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

FAMU Swimming blog optimized for mobile devices!

Due to popular request, the blog of FAMU swimming is now optimized to work with mobile phones. Enjoy future coverage via pc and mobile devices!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Swimming alumni place at the 9th Annual Black Heritage Swimming Championship

This past weekend, two Rattler swimming alumni competed in the 9th annual Black Heritage Swimming Championship in Cary, NC. The competition was hosted by the North Carolina Aquablazers at the Triangle Aquatics Center. The annual competition attracted over 900 swimmers from the across the US.
          Gregory Lowe (Class of 2009) was a stand out swimmer in the breaststroke events for the Rattlers. He was a conference finalist in the 100 yard breaststroke and currnetly ranks in the university all-time top ten performances  in the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke.
Lowe competing at the 2009 CCSA Champs.
       Coach Lowe, representing his hometown Plainfield(NJ) Aquatic Club, started the weekend with a ninth place finish in the 50 yard breaststroke (:30.94). He ended the first day of competition with a :23.94 split as the third leg of Plainfield's 200 yard freestyle relay B team for seventh place.
     On Sunday, Lowe shaved off a couple of tenths at :55.31 for 27th place in the men's 100 yard freeestyle. He had his highest finish in the 100 yard  breaststroke. His time of 1:06.59 earned him fifth in the event. Lowe rounded out the day of individual events with a 47th place in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of  :25.67. Lowe grabbed the bronze medal as the second leg of  Plainfield's 200 yard medley A team.
     
 
Carrington led the Rattlers swimmers as
head coach of the program from
 2008-2010.

       Douglas Carrington (Class of 2005) was a standout swimmer and coach for the Rattler program. The Wappingers Falls, NY native was a three season university record holder in the 200 yard backsroke, 4 time conference finalist in the 200 backstroke and 200 individual medley (I.M.), and currently ranks in the university all-time top ten performances in the 200, 500 freestyle, 100, 200 backstroke, 200, 400 individual medley (I.M.) and the 800 freestyle relay. Carrington also served on the coaching staff for five seasons from 2005-2010. 
        As a memeber of the Potomac Valley Swimming diversity swim team, Carrington started the weekend with a eighth place finish in the 50 yard backstroke with a time of :28.40. On Sunday, he had a full day starting with the 100 yard freestyle. He grabbed 14th place shaving off a half a second for a time of :53.71. In his second event of the morning, Carrington finished sixth in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:02.30. Capping off  the morning of individual events, Carrington finished 15th with a time :24.33 in the 50 yard free.

      In the final event of the morning, Lowe and Carrington competed head to head in the coaches relay. Plainfield edged Potomac Valley for the win and bragging rights until next year!
    Despite the loss to Plainfield, Coach Carrington and the rest of the Potomac Valley team celebrated on Sunday evening as they earned their first Black Heritage swimming team championship with a total of 2,489.50 points. Coach Lowe's Plainfield team was second at 1699 points. Full meet results can be found here!
                                         9th Annual Black Heritage Swimming Championship

Swimmer/Coach Douglas Carrington (third from left)
 and the rest of the Potomac Valley Swimming Staff
hoist the Championship trophy!



Tuesday, March 1, 2011

2010-2011 Rattlers Rank in FAMU Top Ten

Congrats to the three members of the 2010-2011 men's and women's swimming team for achieving times that placed then in FAMU Swimming history during the 2011 Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Conference Championships at the University of Georgia in Athen on February 17-19,2011.

Sophomore Alexandra Age moved up to 8th all time in the Women's 50 yard Freestyle with her time of :25.51.

Freshman Nikolas Rodgers earns the 7th spot all time in the Men's 100 yard Breaststroke with his time of 1:04.80.

Freshman Kyle Wright  eanred the 8th spot all time in the Men's 200 yard Backstroke with his time of 2:19.92.


Congrats to these three Rattlers for becoming part of Rattler swimming history during the 2010-2011 season!



Wednesday, February 23, 2011

2011 CCSA Conference Championships Recap

Athens, GA - The FAMU Men's and Women's swimming teams concluded the 2010-2011 season with their performances at the 2011 Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Conference Championship at the Gabrielson Natatorium on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. The Rattlers statistics are broken down below:


Women's Team

Alexandra Age -

The Louisiana native finished off her sophomore campaign with great swims in all of her events. She started the weekend with a strong performance in the 50 yard Freestyle. Her time of :25.51 was good for 37th place and was a lifetime best time prior to arriving at Florida A&M from :26.28. On the second day, the sophomore had her highest finish in the 100 yard Backstroke. She finished in 35th place with a new season best time of 1:04.38. On the final day of the championships, Age finished 40th in the 100 yard Freestyle. Her time of :56.69 was also a season best time by over 2 seconds.

Bria Bennett -

The junior kept her Rattler career moving forward in Athens like Age. She started the weekend with a lifetime best swim in the 50 yard Freestyle. Bennett lowered her best time from last year with a time of :27.13. Bennett dropped a second in the 100 yard Butterfly on day 2.  She finished 47th with a lifetime best time of 1:11.36. And on the last day, the Philadelphia native rounded out the meet with a 53th place finish in the 100 yard freestyle with a season best time of 1:02.03.

Jasmine Leslie -

Competing in the first individual event for the Rattlers, Leslie dropped the most time off all the swims for the Rattlers. The junior swimmer started off with a 46th place finish in the 500 yard Freestyle in a time of 8:39.49. This time was more than 16 seconds faster than her season best time. On the 2nd day, the Chicago native improved on her new event, the 100 yard Breaststroke. She dropped 5 seconds for a 38th place time of 1:51.22. In her final individual event that day, Leslie dropped over 13 seconds in the 200 yard Freestyle with a time season best time of 3:05.90 for 47th place.

Men's Team

Jeremy Latimore -

The junior college transfer capped off his first season for the Rattlers. Latimore started the weekend with a strong performance in the 50 yard Freestyle. His time of :26.92 was his first swim breaking the :27.00 barrier and season best time. On the 2nd day, the Chicago, IL native shaved off 2 seconds in the 200 yard Freestyle. He swam to a lifetime best of 2:30.88. In the final day of the championships, Latimore finished 25th in the 100 yard Freestyle. His time of :59.74 was also a season best time by over two seconds.

Devon Moses -

Moses had a great meet in his second year for the Rattler men. He started the weekend with a strong performance in the 50 yard Freestyle. His time of :23.93 was the 2nd fastest time for the team this season and a season best for him. On the 2nd day, the sophomore had his highest finish in the 100 yard Butterfly. He earned a spot in the consolation final with a time of 1:05.42. That evening he came back and shaved off two seconds for 16th place with a lifetime best time of 1:03.90.  On the final day of the championships, the Pensacola, FL native finished 24th in the 100 yard Freestyle. His time of :54.56 was also a season and lifetime best time.

Nike Rodgers -


As one of two freshmen for the men's team, Rodgers got off to great start for the Rattlers with his performances. On day one, the Virginia native shaved off .09 tenths of a second in the men's 50 yard Freestyle. His time of :23.85 was a season best and team best time for 21st place. On the second day of the championships, Rodgers qualified for the consolation final in the 100 yard Breaststroke recording a lifetime best time of 1:04.80. Later that evening, Rodgers came in 16th place with a time of 1:06.11 for the Rattler men. In the 100 yard Freestyle, the freshman finished his first collegiate conference championships with a 23th place finish in a time of :54.37.

Kyle Wright  -

As the other freshman of the team, Wright finished off a strong freshman season with his swims for the Rattlers. Wright started day one with the men's first indivdual swimmer to make evening finals. He finished 16th in the consolation final with a life time best of 2:21.17 in the 200 yard Individual Medley (IM). On the 2nd day of the championships, the Detroit, MI native shaved off over three seconds for a life time best time in the 100 yard backtsroke of 1:00.45 for 21st place.  On the final day of the championships the freshman dropped over three seconds in the 200 yard Backstroke of 2:19.92 for 18th place.

Men's Relays

200 yard Freestyle Relay - The team of Nik Rodgers, Jeremy Latimore, Devon Moses, and Kyle Wright posted a season best time of 1:38.95. The relay broke the 1:40 barrier for the first time in the season also.


200 Medley Relay - The team of Nik Rodgers, Devon Moses and Jeremy Latimore started the second day of the championship with a season best time of 1:51.14.



Forfull results click the link below:
2011 CCSA Conference Championshp Results