None of the nine Western Athletic Conference teams are in action over the holiday weekend.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (Nov. 17- Nov. 23)
San Jose State’s Heather Denman and Northern Arizona’s Taryn Harris have been named Western Athletic Conference Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, for the week of Nov. 17-23.
Denman, a freshman swimmer from Brookeville, Md. (Sherwood HS), led the Spartans to a program-best second-place finish at the annual Nike Cup in Long Beach, Calif. She earned UC Irvine/Nike Cup Most Outstanding Female Swimmer honors with three individual wins and five total school records over the three-day event. She set four individual school standards and was part of one record medley relay. The freshman won both the 100 backstroke (54.86) and 100 butterfly (53.97) events, becoming the first Spartan swimmer to win an event at the Nike Cup since 1997. In Saturday’s competition, Denman won the 200 fly, timing a school-record 1:59.69. This marks her second WAC Swimmer of the Week honor.
Harris, a sophomore diver from Wenatchee, Ore. (East Wenatchee HS), placed fifth overall at the University of Arizona Diving Invite on the 3-meter with a score of 269.10. In an even more competitive field on the 1-meter, Harris placed 18th overall with a score of 225.30. This marks the second-consecutive week Harris has earned WAC Diver of the Week honors.
Team Notes
Boise State Broncos
Boise State swimming and diving won its third meet of the season 199-106 as it hosted the Fresno State Bulldogs. The Broncos took the top spot in all 17 events of the dual meet, and broke two school records en route to the team victory. The win was the third of the year for the Broncos, who will hit the road on Dec. 4 to head to the Husky Invitational in Federal Way, Wash. The divers will head to the BYU Invitational on Dec. 5 in Provo, Utah.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Two Fresno State swimmers earned season bests in Boise in the Bulldogs’ second WAC match-up of the season against the Broncos of Boise State, falling 199-106. Fresno State travels to the campus of Cal Poly for the Mustang Invitational Dec. 5-6, 2008 in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
The Rainbow Wahine are coming off of a tough Big West Shootout a few weeks ago in Irvine, California. Hawai?i swimmers next travel to Federal Way, Wash., to compete in the Husky Invite while the diving team gears up to compete in the Texas Diving Invitational in Austin, Texas.
Idaho Vandals
The Vandals defeated Seattle University, 162-100 in a Nov. 21st dual in Moscow. Junior Amanda Watson had a strong day for Idaho as she won a pair of individual events and swam a leg of the first-place 400-yard medley relay. She won the 100-yard backstroke with a season-best time of 1:01.23, then won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:11.43. Idaho next travels to Reno to take on Nevada on Dec. 6.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Junior Margaret Doolittle posted three top six individual finishes winning one event and four as member of Nevada relays with two first place finishes as the Wolf Pack took fifth at the Nike Cup. Nevada takes a two week break before it hosts WAC foe Idaho on Dec. 6.
New Mexico State Aggies
NMSU returns to the pool on Dec. 6 when it travels to Flagstaff, Ariz. to take on WAC foe Northern Arizona.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Five NAU divers competed for three days at the University of Arizona, on the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform events. Lumberjack sophomore Lana Christensen was fourth on the platform, sophomore Taryn Harris placed fifth in the finals of the 3-meter, and sophomore Megan Collier placed 13th overall (fifth in the consolation final) on the 1-meter. NAU’s entire team will be back in action on Friday, Dec. 6 to host New Mexico State in a dual meet.
San Diego Toreros
San Diego recorded a 9th place finish after three days of competition at the Nike Cup. Freshman Sarah Geerdes finished in 2:06.52 taking 17th place in the 200 individual medley. The USD Toreros return to the pool on Saturday, December 13 when they host their first official home meet against the New Mexico State Aggies.
San Jose State Spartans
Freshman Heather Denman led the way to a program-best second-place finish for the Spartans at the annual Nike Cup in Long Beach, Calif., totaling 954 points for runner-up honors behind BYU (1076). SJSU returns to the pool on Dec. 6 in a dual meet against Pacific.
FRESNO STATE COMPETES IN SWIMMING AND DIVING FOR FIRST TIME IN 5 YEARS ? 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. Jeanne Fleck was chosen to head up the program in the 2008-09 season.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS TO SAN ANTONIO ? The 2009 edition of the WAC Championship returns to Palo Alto Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas. Nevada will look to defend its 2007 and 2008 titles in hopes of capturing its third straight WAC championship. The championship will be held Feb. 25-28, 2009.
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
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP:
Regionals: March 12-14 or 13-15, 2009
Finals: March 19-21, 2009
College Station, Texas
Student Recreation Center Natatorium
Host: Texas A&M
CollegeSwimming.com
November 25 - Mid Major Poll
Rk. School Points
1 Miami University (Ohio) 234.97
2 Towson University 228.92
3 Western Kentucky University 225.64
4 Ohio University 224.28
5 San Jose State University 223.28
6 U.S. Naval Academy (Navy) 222.02
7 Colgate University 219.57
8 William and Mary 216.71
9 Florida Gulf Coast University 216.69
10 Delaware 214.71
11 Illinois State 214.45
12 Missouri State 214.20
13 UNC-Wilmington 212.80
14 North Texas 212.23
15 UW-Milwaukee 212.23
16 James Madison 209.93
17 Florida Atlantic 209.73
18 Vermont 209.43
19 Massachusetts 209.37
20 Davidson College 209.13
21 La Salle University 209.13
22 Bucknell University 208.85
23 Dartmouth College 207.45
24 California Tech 204.40
25 Denver University 204.09
WAC Team Receiving Votes: None