DENVER ? This week, four WAC schools will take to the water, while the other four will have time off to prepare for future competitions. Nevada will travel to Moscow, Idaho to take on conference foe Idaho on Dec. 7-8. The Wolf Pack will also be participating in the Stanford Invitational in Stanford, Calif., this weekend. Northern Arizona will host the New Mexico Lobos on Dec. 6 in Flagstaff, while San Jose State will travel to Stockton, Calif., to compete with the University of Pacific. Both Boise State and San Diego will be back in action on Jan. 5-6 when they travel to Irvine, Calif., to compete in the UC Irvine Invitational. Hawai?i will host the Hawai?i Diving Invite on Jan. 4-5, while New Mexico State will host North Texas in Las Cruces, N.M., on Jan. 8.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK ? Boise State junior Katelyn LoFland has been named the Western Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week, for the week of Nov. 26-Dec. 2. This is the first career WAC Athlete of the Week honor for LoFland.
LoFland, a native of Meridian, Idaho (Akron), turned in a career-best and school-record time of 17:24.70 in the 1,650-yard freestyle event, leading the Broncos’ charge in the Husky Invitational in Federal Way, Wash. LoFland crushed the previous Bronco school record by other three minutes and was the top finisher of the weekend for Boise State. LoFland is currently the top-ranked swimmer in the WAC in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Other nominees included: Meghann Percy of New Mexico State earned a pair of top honors and lifetime best marks as the Aggies notched wins against both Texas Permian Basin and Grand Canyon, registering a win in the 800-yard backstroke with a time of 1:00.28 and touching the wall first in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:19.36 ... Kim Kopra of Northern Arizona swam a personal-best and school-record time of 1:04.17 in the 100-yard breaststroke at the USA Swimming Short Course National Championships in Atlanta, Ga, which currently is the top-ranked time in the WAC in the event.
BOISE STATE NOTCHES NUMEROUS SEASON AND LIFETIME BEST TIMES ? The Broncos faced many of the nation’s top teams last weekend at the Husky Invitational in Federal Way, Wash., where several swimmers registered personal best times. Boise State had more than 55 season bests and over 30 lifetime best efforts with outstanding performances both individually and in relays.
BOISE STATE’S LOFLAND SMASHES BRONCO SCHOOL RECORD ? Junior Bronco Katelyn LoFland turned in a personal best and school record time of 17:24.70 in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the Husky Invitational in Federal Way, Wash., on Dec. 1. Her time crushed the previous Bronco school record by over three minutes and also is currently the top-ranked swimmer in the WAC in the event.
NORTHERN ARIZONA SENT TWO SWIMMERS TO 2007 USA SHORT COURSE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS ? Lumberjack freshman Kim Kopra and sophomore Rachael Foe participated in the 2007 USA Swimming Short Course National Championships in Atlanta, Ga., last weekend. Kopra notched a school-record time of 1:04.17 in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Foe swam a 56.23 in the 100-yard butterfly to place 58th of 133 swimmers and also went 51.64 in the 100-yard freestyle to finish 87th of 138.
Boise State Broncos
Boise State returns home from Federal Way, Wash., after the Broncos earned a 10th place finish in the University of Washington Husky Invitational ... the Broncos recorded more than 55 season bests and over 30 lifetime best efforts at the Husky Invitational ... Boise State was led by junior Katelyn LoFland, who set a Bronco school record in the 1,650-yard freestyle event, beating the previous mark by over three minutes ... the Bronco 400-yard freestyle relay team also recorded a school record time of 3:37.29 ... up next, Boise State will have the entire month of January off to prepare for the UC Irvine Invitational in Irvine, Calif., on Jan. 5-6.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
Hawai?i returns home from both the Husky Invitational in Federal Way, Wash., and the Ohio State Diving Invitational in Columbus, Ohio ... the Rainbow Wahine finished seventh out of 13 at the Husky Invitational ... Hawai?i was led by diver Emma Friesen at the Husky Invitational, as she boasted a fourth-place finish on the three-meter springboard with a score of 314.40 ... up next, the Rainbow Wahine have two weeks off in preparation for a mid-week competition on Dec. 19 when they host the Beavers of Oregon State in a dual meet in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho fell short in a pair of conference duals when the Vandals dropped close meets against Northern Arizona and New Mexico State on Nov. 9-10 ... the Vandals lost to the Lumberjacks by a score of 163-126 and came up short against the Aggies, 167-127 ... the freshmen duo of Alyson O’Brien and Anna Humphrey led the way with three first place finishes, with O’Brien touching the wall first in both the 200 and 400-meter freestyle events and Humphrey winning the 100-meter backstroke ... the Idaho 400-meter freestyle relay team also turned in a winning effort with a time of 3:59.42 ... up next, the Vandals will host their first home conference dual meet of the season against WAC foe Nevada on Dec. 7-8.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada comes off a pair of double-dual meets in Lincoln, Neb., where the Wolf Pack took on Nebraska, Nebraska-Omaha and Iowa on Nov. 3 ... the Wolf Pack were victorious over both Nebraska-Omaha and Iowa, but fell short to the Huskers in both meets ... Michaela Schmidt was a double individual winner for Nevada on Nov. 2, placing first in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events ... the Pack won nine of 16 events on Nov. 3 and were led by sophomore Margaret Doolittle, who was a triple individual winner, coming in first in the 100-yard breaststroke and twice in the 200-yard breaststroke ... this weekend, the Wolf Pack travel to Moscow to take on the Vandals.
New Mexico State Aggies
In its final home meet of the season, New Mexico State defeated both Texas Permian Basin and Grand Canyon on Dec. 1 ... the Aggies were led by sophomore Meghann Percy with a pair of wins and two career best marks in the 100-yard backstroke event with a time of 1:00.28 and the 500-yard freestyle event with a time of 5:19.36 ... freshman Kelly Conrad captured the 200-yard freestyle event, while fellow freshman Alannah Lawrence won the 100-yard breaststroke event with a time of 1:05.16, good for the third-best time in the WAC ... the Aggies have a week of rest before traveling to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the UNLV Winter Invitational on Dec. 15-17 .
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Northern Arizona’s freshman Kim Kopra and sophomore Rachel Foe competed in the 2007 USA Swimming Short Course National Championships in Atlanta, Ga., ... Kopra set a new school record in the 100-yard breaststroke event with a time of 1:04.17, en route to finishing 36th out of 91 ... Foe turned in a time of 56.23 in the 100-yard butterfly to place 58th out of 133 swimmers and also notched a time of 51.64 in the 100-yard freestyle to finish 87th out of 138 ... this week, the Lumberjacks will entertain the Lobos of New Mexico on Dec. 6.
San Diego Toreros
San Diego returns home from the UC Irvine Nike Cup where the Toreros finished in the middle of the pack at 12th out of 22 teams ... the Toreros captured four top-15 individual marks, four top-15 relay finishes, and another three top-25 individual marks ... the San Diego 400-yard medley relay team finished with a team-high 11th-place in a time of 4:05.31, while the 200-yard medley relay notched 12th-place with a time of 1:51.54 ... Joy Miller also recorded a team-high 11th-place in the 200-yard butterfly and 13th-place in the 100-yard butterfly event ... the Toreros return to the water next weekend when they host league foe Northern Arizona on Dec. 15.
San Jose State Spartans
San Jose State returns home from the UC Irvine Nike Cup after a fifth place finish out of 22 teams ... the Spartans were led by senior co-captain Brie Marhenke, who continues to turn in top times in the sprint freestyle events ... Marhenke recorded NCAA B cut times in both the 50-yard freestyle (23.09) and the 100-yard freestyle (50.60) events ... San Jose State swimmers recorded a total of 76 season-best times in individual events at the UC Irvine Nike Cup, while five Spartan relay teams registered season-best marks ... up next, the Spartans will make the trip to Stockton, Calif., to take on the University of Pacific.
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
-WAC-