Others Nominated...
Fresno State diver Ashleigh Raley qualified for the NCAA Championships in the one-meter springboard event while competing at the Lancer Cup Invitational in Riverside, Calif. Her dual-meet score of 275.60 set a pool record and earned her a first place finish...Rice junior Mandy Mularz broke her own school record in the 100 free with a time of 50.47 to finish second in the event at the SMU Classic. She also won the 50 free in 23.19. Both times met NCAA provisional qualifying standards. Mularz was part of the 200 and 400 free relay teams which both finished second. San Jose State junior Charlotte Pierce scored a 2:06.53 to win the 200 butterfly against Oregon State. The next fastest time in the heat was 2:09.44.
Early Qualifiers
WAC swimmers have already posted 18 NCAA qualifying times, including an automatic qualifying time by Alenka Kejzar in the 400 I.M. (4:14.93). Mustang teammates Lotta Wanberg and Georgina Lee met the NCAA B standard in both the 200 and 500 free. Flavia Rigamonti joins them in the 500 free, while Anu Koivisto qualified in the 100 and 200 back and is joined in the 200 by Alenka Kejzar. Koivisto also posted qualifying times in the 100 fly and 200 I.M. Kejzar met the B standard in the 200 I.M. as well, and Lee qualified in the 100 fly. Andrea Cassidy qualified in the 400 I.M. and the 800 free relay team of Lotta Wanberg, Lee, Lisa Wanberg and Cassidy just made the cutoff of 7:27.17 with a time of 7:27.00. Rices Mandy Mularz met the qualifying standard in the 100 free with a time of 50.47, which is also good for the Rice record.
The Polls Are Out
The first poll was released on Nov. 1 and two WAC teams are including in the rankings. SMU is 11th while Rice holds the 22nd spot. Both teams were ranked in the final poll last season, along with Hawai`i.
Top Times
Now that SMU has competed this season, the Mustangs have taken over many of the top spots on the leagues top performances list. They lead in eight individual categories and all but one of the five relays. Nevada held onto two top spots, by Leticia Cunha in the 1650 free and Kathy Echiverri in the 100 breast. Rice leads the WAC in the remaining events, including the 400 free relay. Mandy Mularz leads in the 50 and 100 free while Corrie Kristick is tops in the 1000 free. Lauren Hill has the best time in the 200 breast. The top divers are both from San Jose State: Tracy Harkins and Katie Kanavas lead in the 1-meter and 3-meter events, respectively.
Previously in the WAC
Novermber 1
Auburn 65, SMU 48
November 2
Fresno State 69, Air Force 44
Fresno State 60, New Mexico 53
November 2-3
SMU 2nd of 6 at SMU Classic, 323
Rice 4th of 6 at SMU Classic, 248
November 3
Fresno State 1st of 5 at Lancer Cup Invitational, 352
Oregon State 99, San Jose State 87