ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (Dec. 8-14)
DENVER ? San Diego’s Jessica Rodriguez and Amy Bogart has been named Western Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Athletes of the Week, respectively for the week of Dec. 8-14.
Rodriguez, a freshman swimmer from Ontario, Canada, posted back-to-back first place finishes in the 100 yard butterfly (58.91, more than half a second lead over second place) and the 200 Individual Medley (2:11.75, just under half a second lead over second place). Her two first place finishes gave the Toreros a 140-137 lead going into the final event of the meet.
Bogart, a sophomore diver from Woodside, Calif. (St. Francis HS), finished in first place after the first round of diving after she posted a score of 229.65 on the 1-meter board, just .52 points over teammate Monica Oddo. She then tied Oddo in the second round of diving on the 1-meter board after they both posted a 232.80.
THIS WEEK IN WAC SWIMMING- New Mexico State is the only Western Athletic Conference team in action this week as the Aggies travel west to Los Angeles, Calif. to take on Loyola Marymount on Dec. 19.
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.
MINETTE SETS NEW WAC DIVING RECORD - Candice Minette, a senior diver from Nevada, set a new Western Athletic Conference diving record in a Dec. 6 dual against Idaho after she posted a score of 328.15 on the 1-meter board. Her score surpassed the previous record by QiongJie Huang (327.00) of Hawai?i set in 2005. This marks the second WAC record for the senior from Glendale, Ariz. as she set the high mark on the 3-meter board in January of 2008.
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.
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. BSU also took sixth-place just behind WAC foe Hawai?i in the Husky Invitational in Federal Way, Wash. on Dec. 6. It ended the two-day 12-team meet with 512.5 points, just a half point behind the Rainbow Wahine. The Broncos will have their own shot at UH when the two teams face off on Jan. 6 in Honolulu.
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 traveled to San Lius Obispo, Calif. to compete in just its second invitational meet of the season. The Bulldogs finished in third-place with a total score of 1,050 points behind host Cal Poly. Freshman Heidi Gjoen continues to shine for FS as she earned personal bests in the 100 back, 200 back and the 500 free over the weekend. The Bulldogs return to competition on Jan.10 following the holiday break.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
The Rainbow Wahine finished in fifth-place at the twelve-team Husky Invite in Federal Way, Wash. last week. UH ended the meet with 513 points, just a half point better than WAC foe Boise State. Hawai?i will next take on Boise State in a WAC meet on Jan. 6 in Honolulu. The Rainbow Wahine Diving Squad also competed well at the Texas Diving Invitational, led by junior Emma Friesen, who finished in fifth place in the 3-meter final. On the 1-meter, Friesen had a final score of 309.05 and a score of 296.40 on the 3-meter.
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 took on Nevada in Reno on Dec. 6, with the Vandals dropping the WAC meet 131-83. UI takes a break until it hosts Washington State on Jan. 23 and in-state rival Boise State on Jan. 24 in Moscow, Idaho.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Junior Margaret Doolittle posted three top-six individual finishes, winning one event and four other as a member of Nevada relays with two first place finishes as the Wolf Pack took fifth at the Nike Cup. Nevada then took on Idaho on Dec. 6 in Reno as the Wolf Pack won 11-of-12 events to defeat the Vandals 131-83. Nevada improved to 6-2 with its victory over Idaho. Courtney Eads (swimmer), Margaret Doolittle (swimmer) and Candice Minett(diver) each won two events in the dual with Idaho.
New Mexico State Aggies
NMSU is coming off its second straight WAC dual meet win after it beat out San Diego on Dec. 13, 150-144 in San Diego, Calif. Freshman Brittany Moore claimed top honors in the 500 and 1,000 freestyle. The Aggies also defeated Northern Arizona, 167.5-132.5, Dec. 6, in Flagstaff, Ariz. The Aggies now have two consecutive wins over NAU in dual meets. Freshman Maria Spies collected a pair of individual victories at Northern Arizona, Dec. 6. She won the 100-meter breaststroke (1:12.65) and the 200-meter breast (2:38.43). Both performances were near pool records.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
New Mexico State earned wins in 10 of 16 events to defeat NAU by a score of 167.5-132.5 on Dec. 6. The Lumberjacks earned solid wins in both relays, but the majority of individual events belonged to New Mexico State. NAU is now 5-6 in dual meet competition this season. The NAU 400 medley relay “A” team of Chalene Dirks-Ryan, T.J. Williams, Rachael Foe and Tami Binek overcame a slow start to start the meet off with a Lumberjack win in a time of 4:23.38. NAU next travels to Boca Raton, Fla. to take on Florida Atlantic on Dec. 15 in its last dual meet before the holiday break.
San Diego Toreros
San Diego recorded a ninth-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 returned to the pool on Saturday, Dec. 13 as they lost to WAC foe New Mexico State, 150-144. Freshman Jessica Rodriguez posted three individual victories including wins in the 100 butterfly and the 200 Individual Medley. After a two week hiatus during the holiday break the Toreros travel to Irvine, Calif. to take on UC Irvine on Jan. 4 in the annual UC Irvine Relays.
San Jose State Spartans
San Jose State concluded competition for the 2008 calendar year with a dual meet record of 9-1. The Spartans are on a nine-meet win streak since a season-opening loss at No. 3 Stanford. They now take a break for final exams and the holidays, prior to a dual meet at Cal State Bakersfield on Friday, Jan. 2. San Jose State has posted nine school-record swims thus far on the year, to go along with three NCAA ?B’ cuts, all from Heather Denman. Both Jo Thibodaux and Jessica Holden achieved NCAA Zone E Diving qualifying marks on the one-meter board over the weekend.