Coming Up in the WAC
February 2
Fresno State vs. Nevada
Rice vs. LSU, Florida State, La.-Monroe
February 9
Fresno State vs. San Jose State
SMU vs. Texas
Previously in the WAC
January 23
SMU 136, TCU 63
January 25
SMU 120, Rice 74
January 26
Oregon State 151, Fresno State 143
Washington 208, Hawai`i 78
Washington State 139, Nevada 123
Texas A&M 151, Rice 104
SMU 136, Houston 99
Others Nominated
Nevada sophomore Leticia Cunha won the 200 freestyle and the 200 breaststroke in a dual meet against Washington State. She swam a season-best time of 2:25.85 in the 200 breast and clocked a 1:54.82 in the 200 free. Freshman Laruen Hill of Rice notched one of three victories in a dual meet against SMU, winning the 200 breaststroke. She followed that performance with two wins versus Texas A&M, claiming the 100 and 200 breast and adding a second-place finish in the 200 I.M. Hill holds Rice season-best times in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 200 and 400 I.M.
Hawai`i Seniors Say Aloha
In its final dual meet of the season, Hawai`i said farewell to six seniors last Saturday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. Co-captains Star Carter and Georgi Kinsela were honored, along with Candice Cabebe, Sanja Du Plessis, Sarah Shepard and Brandie Smith. The Rainbow Wahine will swim an intrasquad Senior Circuit before WAC Championships begin on Feb. 27.
Conference Championships
The WAC Championships will take place Feb. 27-March 2 at the Palo Alto Community College Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas. No qualifying standards are used to determine participation in the meet, and the WAC follows NCAA guidelines concerning the number of events each swimmer may enter. Swimmers are seeded based upon their top times from the regular season.
Poll Position
Following losses to Arizona and Georgia, SMU dropped to ninth in the poll released on Jan. 17. Arizona is currently ranked third, while the Bulldogs come in at fifth. The next poll will be released on Jan. 31, followed by Feb. 14 and a final poll on Mar. 7.
Splashes
Fresno State diver Ashleigh Raley notched a Fresno State record in a dual meet against Oregon State last weekend in the one-meter event. Her score of 290.85 is an NCAA qualifying mark and is also second in the WAC. Fellow freshman Lindsey Paulekas and sophomore Nicole Recupito also recorded NCAA-qualifying scores, with 282.525 points and 263.175 points, respectively...Rice junior Mandy Mularz swept the 50 and 100 freestyle events for the second straight meet, completing the feat against both Houston and SMU...SMU freshman Flavia Rigamonti shattered the Rice Pool record in the 1000 free on Jan. 25 with a time of 9:42.99, more than 10 seconds better than the previous mark...Mustang coach Steve Collins collected his 100th win at SMU with a win over Houston last Saturday. The Mustangs swept their three meets last week to help Collins achieve the feat.