Steven Prince Stevens 1988-2012

The FAMU family mourns the loss Steven Prince Stevens II. Stevens was a member of the men's swimming team from 2006-2008, before joining the Marines. Private First Class Stevens , was killed in battle in Afghanistan from shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade. Stevens is survived by his wife Monique and his three-month-old son Kairo, who was born just eight days after his deployment.

Swimming alumni place at the 10th Annual Black Heritage Swimming Championship

This past weekend, three Rattler swimming alumni competed in the 10th 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.

Dennis Mobley (Class of 2010) swam the sprint freestyle and breaststroke events for the men's team. Mobley represented the North Carolina Aquablazers with a 25th place in the 50 yard breaststroke with a 34.08, 30th in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:21.55) and 59th in the 50 yard freestyle (:27.55).

Coach Gregory Lowe, representing his hometown Plainfield(NJ) Aquatic Club, started the weekend with a fifth place finish in the 50 yard breaststroke (:30.33). He ended the first day of competition as the third leg of Plainfield's 200 yard freestyle relay A team for second place.

On Sunday, Lowe finished 29th in the 50 yard butterfly (:29.08) and rounded out the day of individual events with a 29th place in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of :25.13. Lowe earned a sliver medal as the second leg of  Plainfield's 200 yard medley relay 'A' team.

As coach/swimmer of the Potomac Valley Swimming diversity swim team, Douglas Carrington started the weekend with a 12th place finish in the 200 yard freestyle with a 2:00.87. Carrington again for a second year placed eighth place in the 50 yard backstroke with a time of :28.87. On Sunday, he had a full day starting with the 100 yard freestyle. He grabbed 17th place shaving off three tenths of a second for a time of :53.40. In his second event of the morning, Carrington grabbed the bronze in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:01.48. Capping off the morning of individual events, Carrington finished 22nd with a time :24.64 in the 50 yard freestyle.

In the final event of the morning, Lowe and Carrington competed again in the coaches relay. Carrington and Potomac Valley relay team redeemed themselves from last year and grabbed the win and bragging rights until next year!

Coach Carrington and the rest of the Potomac Valley team celebrated on Sunday evening as they earned their first back to back team championship with a total of 4017 points. Coach Lowe's Plainfield team (combined  with the Metro Dynasty Swim team)was second at 2432 points. Full meet results can be found here!

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.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! It's 2012!

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!

The Renovation of the FAMU Teaching Pool Begins!

Read the story at Rattler Nation!
 http://rattlernation.blogspot.com/2011/10/famu-begins-renovating-teaching-pool.html

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!