University of Tennessee Athletics
TRACK & FIELD'S SLINDEN EARNS LADY VOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK ACCOLADES
May 01, 2002 | Women's Track
May 1, 2002
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
For her performance during the week of April 22-28, senior Diane Slinden has been chosen University of Tennessee Lady Vol Athlete of the Week by a vote of the media relations office.
Slinden, a product of Menomonie, Wis., competed in a pair of meets for the Lady Volunteers over the weekend, recording NCAA provisional qualifying improvements in the discus. Those efforts placed her among the best in the conference and nation. She also took part in the shot and hammer competitions at the respective gatherings.
At the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., on April 26 Slinden took third in the championship flight of the discus, stretching the tape to a season-best 174-9 on her first throw. That mark stood up and enabled her to finish her career with three-consecutive top-three performances at the historic event. While in Philly, she also finished seventh in the open section of the shot put at 45-0.50 on April 25.
After that meet, the squad returned home and competed in the Knoxville Invitational on April 28. The senior tri-captain kept her momentum in the discus going, as she registered another improvement. She raised her season best to 175-7 and zoomed to the top of the Southeastern Conference and to No. 9 in the nation with a second-place effort behind 1996 Olympian and current UT volunteer assistant coach Aretha Hill.
Slinden also launched a season-best sling of 157-7 in the hammer throw to place third. She ranks number two on the Big Orange all-time performers list in the hammer (165-6) and is at number three in the discus (182-3). Indoors, she is the school record holder in the weight throw and also possesses the Stokely Athletics Center mark with that implement.
