DENVER ? Six WAC teams are in action this week, looking to make waves of their competition, while the other two teams will have several weeks off to prepare for meets in early February. On Jan. 25-26, Nevada will travel to Los Angeles, Calif., to compete in the USC Diving Invitational. San Diego will also make the trip to Los Angeles, as the Toreros prepare to take on Loyola Marymount. Boise State welcomes the Vandals of Idaho on Jan. 26, and San Jose State travels to Hayward, Calif., to compete with Cal State East Bay in dual competition. Northern Arizona will welcome Grand Canyon to Flagstaff for its last home meet of the season. New Mexico State will be back in action on Jan. 31, with the Aggies traveling to Albuquerque to meet in-state rival New Mexico Lobos. The Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine do not return to the water until the WAC Championships in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 20-23.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK ? Nevada junior Courtney Eads has been named the Western Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week, for the week of Jan. 14-20. This is the second WAC Athlete of the Week honor for Eads this season.
Eads, a native of Upland, Calif. (Oregon State), captured all six events in which she swam, leading the Wolf Pack to wins in dual competitions over WAC foe New Mexico State and Big West opponent UC Davis. The versatile Eads won five different events, only repeating in the 1,000-yard freestyle, swimming all four different strokes during the two meets. In the win over New Mexico State, she won the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:19.62), 200-yard butterfly (2:01.57) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:23.73). Against UC Davis, she again captured the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:19.42), 500-yard freestyle (4:59.98) and the 400-yard Individual Medley (4:27.74). Her first-place time of 2:01.57 in the 200-yard butterfly currently ranks as the best in the WAC this season.
Other nominees included: Victoria Eickerman of New Mexico State led the Aggies against conference foe Boise State, recording three lifetime-best performances in the 100-yard butterfly (58.38), 200-yard butterfly (2:08.20) and the 200-yard Individual Medley (2:12.19), and also contributed to the winning 400-yard medley relay for the Aggies.
NEVADA’S MINETTE SHATTERS WAC THREE-METER DIVING RECORD ? Nevada’s Candice Minette captured two first-place finishes in diving events in a dual meet against Boise State on Jan. 12. Minette won the one-meter event with a score of 310.40 and claimed the victory in the three-meter event with a career-high and school record-setting mark of 396.95. Her three-meter score also shattered the WAC record of 386.60, set by QiongJie Huang of Hawai?i in 2006.
BOISE STATE SETS THREE SCHOOL RECORDS ? Boise State won three events and set three school records Saturday, Jan. 19, in its dual meet against WAC foe New Mexico State. Megan Morton won the three-meter diving event with 284.3 points en route to setting the Bronco school record. Freshman Nathalie Rohling earned the top spot in the 200-yard freestyle (1:55.72), recording a career-best and school record time. Jenny Nowatzke tallied the final Bronco record on the day, clocking a 54.68 in the 100-yard freestyle.
FRESNO STATE TO ADD SWIMMING & DIVING IN 2008-09 ? Fresno State Athletics Director Thomas Boeh announced on Jan. 8 the addition of two women’s sports in a move that reflects the University’s continued commitment to Title IX compliance.
The announcement marks the return of women’s swimming and diving which last competed in the 2003-04 academic year. This addition comes after the recommendations of the Gender Equity Plan Task Force, a 13-member campus-community panel charged by the University President John D. Welty to develop a new five-year gender equity plan that will guide the university to maintain Title IX compliance in its athletics program.
Boeh said he expects coaches to be hired and student athletes recruited in time for the teams to compete in the 2008-09 academic year. The intention for the new swimming and diving team will be to practice and compete at a Clovis Unified high school in the near term. The university master plan includes phased construction of a competitive aquatics center.
Boise State Broncos
Boise State won three events and set three school records in its dual meet against league rival New Mexico State, but fell 174-118 ... Megan Morton won the three-meter diving event with 284.3 points en route to setting the Bronco school record ... freshman Nathalie Rohling earned the top spot in the 200-yard freestyle (1:55.72), recording a career-best and school record time ... Jenny Nowatzke tallied the final Bronco record on the day, clocking a 54.68 in the 100-yard freestyle ... freshman Allison Hall touched the wall first in the 200-yard butterfly (2:07.29), good for second all-time in Bronco history ... up next, the Broncos welcome WAC foe Idaho on Jan. 26.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
Hawai?i played host to the Rainbow Wahine Diving Invitational Jan. 18-19 in Honolulu ... Hawai?i was led by sophomore diver Raquel Bartlow, capturing the three-meter event with her best showing as a Rainbow Wahine diver, recording a score of 292.00 ... teammates Emma Friesen and Stephanie De Lima placed second and fifth, with scores of 286.60 and 242.05, respectively ... the Rainbow Wahine will have an entire month off to prepare for the WAC Championships in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 20-23.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho returns home from Federal Way, Wash., after competing against the Washington Huskies, dropping the dual 139-115 ... the Vandals were led by senior Adriana Quirke, who turned in a time of 2:07.39 in the 200-yard backstroke to finish first in the event ... senior JoJo Miller also touched the wall first in the 200-yard breaststroke, earning a season-best time of 2:24.02 in the event ... up next, the Vandals will have a much deserved week-long break to prepare for a trip to conference rival Boise State, when they take on the Broncos on Jan. 26 in Boise.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada comes off a pair of victories, the first at home against WAC foe New Mexico State,186-111, before capturing the regular season finale over UC Davis, 175-125 ... the Wolf Pack won 13 of 16 events over New Mexico State and 11 of 16 in its win at UC Davis ... junior diver Candice Minette pulled off the sweep of the one and three-meter diving events for the third consecutive dual at UC Davis ... up next, the Wolf Pack divers will travel to Los Angeles, Calif. to compete in the USC Diving Invitational Jan. 25-26, and the swimmers will travel to Stanford, Calif., to take part in the Stanford Invitational Feb. 15-16.
New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State comes off a split pair of dual meets, first falling to WAC foe Nevada, 186-111, before bouncing back to defeat Boise State, 174-118 ... the Aggies dominated the Broncos, winning all but one event at Boise State ... New Mexico State was led by sophomore Victoria Eickerman, who tallied three lifetime-best performances in the 100 and 200-yard butterfly events and the 200-yard Individual Medley in the dual meet against the Broncos ... freshman Kelly Conrad also earned victories in the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyle events ... up next, the Aggies are off until they meet instate rival New Mexico, Jan. 31, in Albuquerque.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Fourth-ranked Arizona and Pac-10 powerhouse Oregon State proved a bit too strong for Northern Arizona, as the Wildcats earned a 174-122 win while the Beavers won by a score of 176-123 over Northern Arizona on Jan. 4 ... the Lumberjacks were led by senior diver Natalie Hughes, who captured a first and second-place finish in diving events ... Hughes won the three-meter event with a career-high score of 318.75 and placed second on the one-meter with another career-high mark of 293.99. ... the Lumberjacks will return to competition on Jan. 26 when Grand Canyon makes the trip to Flagstaff to compete.
San Diego Toreros
San Diego returns home from a dual meet with cross-town rival UC San Diego Tritons, where the Toreros fell 176-124 ... San Diego sent its seniors out on a high note, posting a 177-123 victory over Boise State in its final home meet of the season ... senior Joy Miller led the way, earning two first-place finishes in the 100 and 200-yard butterfly events, and also a second-place finish in the 400-yard Individual Medley ... sophomore Kristen Yoon also picked up two first-place finishes in both the 100 and 200-yard backstroke events the Toreros return to the water on Saturday, Jan. 26 when they take Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, Calif.
San Jose State Spartans
San Jose State put together a successful weekend away from home, defeating Cal State Bakersfield in a pair of dual meets on Jan. 4-5, before winning its first-ever UC Irvine/Ayres Hotel & Suites Invitational title on Jan. 6 ... the Spartans were led by freshman Caitlin Macky, who compiled a team-best nine combined wins (four individual and five relay) wins over three days ... Macky touched the wall first in the 200-yard IM (2:13.24), the 400-yard IM (4:46.51), the 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.16) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:29.97) ... up next, the Spartans return to action at home versus Cal State East Bay on Jan. 26.
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.
WAC Championship Tickets:
All-Session Passes (includes all 10 sessions) are $30 for adults and $20 for children ages 18 and under.
Single-Session tickets will be available for purchase at the event (the pool will be cleared at the conclusion of each session). Prices are as follows:
Relays Wednesday evening $5
Prelims Adults $6, Children $4
Diving Adults $6, Children $4
Finals Adults $7, Children $4
An All-Session ticket order form is available online at www.wacsports.com, and is also attached to the end of the weekly Swimming & Diving release.
WAC Championship Apparel:
Swimming & Diving Championship Apparel is now available online or for purchase at the event. Items available include t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts, and hooded sweatshirts.
A Swimming & Diving Championship Apparel brochure is available online at www.wacstore.com, and is also attached to the end of the weekly Swimming & Diving release.
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.
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
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