DENVER ? The 2007-08 WAC Swimming & Diving season is officially underway, with several teams already in action and several other to begin competition in the coming weeks. Nevada looks to defend its 2006-07 WAC Championship and earn its second consecutive title, as the others look to make waves and come away with this season’s championship.
Boise State Broncos
Boise State looks to open its season in the Rocky Mountains, going first to Fort Collins to square off with Colorado State before heading to Colorado Springs to compete with Air Force, Denver and Colorado School of Mines ... the Broncos return five starters from their inaugural season, welcoming 21 newcomers that include 18 freshman ... looking to lead the way this season is junior Holly Chatelain who recorded nine top-five finishes last season, including a first-place finish in the 1,000 freestyle against Oregon State and two first-place finishes against Nevada in both the 200 IM and 500 freestyle ... Chatelain was named the Broncos’ team captain and holds the BSU record for the 100 butterfly, 500 freestyle and 1,000 freestyle.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
Hawai?i comes off two season-opening dual meets with the Sun Devils of Arizona State, falling 177-123 on Sept. 28, and 159-122 on Sept. 29 in Honolulu ... the Rainbow Wahine were led by newcomer Emma Berry, who captured first place in five of her six entries ... Berry touched the wall first in the 1,000-freestyle, 500-freestyle and 400-IM on Sept. 28, and in the 400-meter freestyle and 800-meter freestyle on Sept. 29 ... sophomore Emma Friesen took both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard with scores that qualified her for the NCAA Zone Diving Regional in March ... the Rainbow Wahine will have the month of October off in preparation for both the Lincoln Aquatic Shootout and the USC Diving Invitational, which take place the first weekend in November.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho produced a solid performance against UCLA, but fell short on points, 158-278, to the Bruins ... the Vandals finished the day with ten top-three finishes against the Bruins, including two second place times submitted by a pair of true freshman ... Alyson O’Brien, swimming in her second collegiate meet, took second place in the 100-meter freestyle, clocking a time of 59.74 seconds ... fellow freshman Anna Humphrey earned a second place finish in the 200-meter backstroke, while senior JoJo Miller touched the wall second in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:44.52 ... the Vandals have a three-week break before they make another trip to California where they will take on the Spartans of San Jose State on Friday, Oct. 26.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada held its Blue and Silver Intrasquad meet on Friday, Oct. 5 at Lombardi Pool where the Silver squad edged the Blue team in a close 124-110 finish ... junior newcomer Courtney Eads won three individual events for the Blue team and sophomore Chelsea Sawyer won two events for the Blue squad ... senior Michaela Schmidt was a multiple-event winner for the Silver, placing first in the 100-yard freestyle and 400-yard IM ... Eads won the 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, and 1,000-yard freestyle while Sawyer captured the 1- and 3-meter diving events ... the Wolf Pack open the regular season Oct. 19-20 at the Pacific Invitational in Stockton, Calif.
New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State competed in its Crimson & White Intrasquad Meet on Sept. 28, with 11 newcomers making their first appearance for the Aggies ... freshman Kelly Conrad led the Crimson team with a pair of wins in the 50 -yard and 100-yard freestyle, while sophomore Alyson Clements of the White squad was also a multiple-event winner with victories in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle ... sophomore Bonnie Taylor also made an impact for the Crimson with a pair of wins in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard IM ... last season the Aggies’ program was honored for its work in the classroom, ranking second nationally in team GPA ... the Aggies officially open up their season on Oct. 12 when they host Rice and Northern Colorado in a double-dual meet.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Northern Arizona held its 12th annual Swimming Pentathlon on Sept. 21, with sophomore Rachel Foe scoring the most points for the second-straight year ... Foe won the meet with 3,180 points as a freshman last season, and upped her total to 3,600 points to win this year, earning top times in the 200-meter IM, 100-meter butterfly and 100-meter freestyle ... other top returners for the Lumberjacks include junior Tami Binek, sophomore Renee Rother and newcomer Kim Kopra ... the first official competition for the Lumberjacks is Oct. 26-27 when they travel to Texas to take on TCU on Friday and North Texas and Texas A&M on Saturday.
San Diego Toreros
San Diego wrapped up its 2006-07 season with a seventh place finish overall at the WAC Championship meet in San Antonio ... the Toreros earned their best score in the three years they have been in the WAC earning 245 points ... top returners for the Toreros include junior Erin Voyles and sophomores Tina Levesque and Kristen Yoon ... San Diego will host its Intrasquad Meet on Oct. 11 and the following weekend the Alumni Meet will take place in San Diego on Oct. 20 ... the Toreros take to the pool on Oct. 27 when they head to Westwood, Calif. to compete with the Bruins of UCLA.
San Jose State Spartans
San Jose State opened its season for the third year in a row at Stanford, a team that has won eight NCAA team championships, more than any other collegiate women’s swimming program in the nation ... the Spartans were out-pointed 164-105 by the perennial powerhouse Cardinal ... the Spartans were led by senior Brie Marhenke, who swept the two sprint freestyle events ... Marhenke first raced 23.58 to win the 50 freestlye, narrowly falling short of the NCAA ?B’ cut of 23.29 ... following a break, Marhenke went 52.07 to take the 100 freestyle ... Marhenke owns school records in both events ... San Jose State hosts its first of four home meets this Saturday, Oct. 13, with UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz paying a visit.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS TO SAN ANTONIO ? The 2008 edition of the WAC Championship returns to Palo Alto Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas. Nevada will look to defend its 2007 title in hopes of capturing its second WAC championship in a row. The championship will be held Feb. 20-23, 2008.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP ? The 2008 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship will be held in Columbus, Ohio, March 20-22. Hawai?i tied for 27th in 2007.
2008 SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Zone Diving (5): March 13-15 or 14-16, 2008
Zone A: University of Buffalo (March 14-16)
Buffalo, New York
Zone B: Auburn University (March 14-16)
Auburn, Alabama
Zone C: Ohio State University (March 14-16)
Columbus, Ohio
Zone D: University of Houston (March 14-16)
Houston, Texas
Zone E: U.S. Air Force Academy (March 13-15)
Oklahoma City Community College
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Finals: March 20-22, 2008
Columbus, Ohio
McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion
Host: Ohio State University
For Ticket Information: 1-800-GOBUCKS