This Week in WAC Swimming-A dual meet between the top two teams in the conference highlights the weekend schedule as Nevada visits San Jose State.
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.
BOISE STATE RECORDS FIRST-EVER WIN AGAINST IDAHO - Boise State beat its in-state rival, Idaho, for the first time in program history with a 175-111 victory on Jan. 24 in Moscow, Idaho. The Broncos took 12 of the 16 events from the Vandals and set a new team record in the 200 medley relay.
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 ON SALE NOW:
All-Session Passes (includes all 10 sessions) are $35 for adults and $25 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 Adults $6, Children $4
Prelims Adults $6, Children $4
Diving Adults $6, Children $4
Finals Adults $7, Children $4
Tickets can be purchased by logging on to wacsports.com and clicking on the “Championships” tab. Scroll down to Swimming and Diving and select “Ticket Order Form.”
WAC Championship Apparel:
Swimming & Diving Championship Apparel will be available online or for purchase at the event. Items available include t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts, and hooded sweatshirts.
Boise State Broncos
The Broncos garnered their first-ever win against in-state rival Idaho last week as the team took 12 of the 16 events against the Vandals ... the quartet of Morgan McLain, Emily Irvin, Amber Boucher and Stephanie North edged out the Vandals by .23 seconds to take the victory in the 200 medley relay, a new school record ... in the mile, Rachael Meisner and Katelyn Lofland finished 1-2 for the Broncos with times of 17:49.98 and 17:50.10, respectively ... the pair finished nine seconds in front of the next swimmer to sweep the top spots ... the team has the weekend off in preparation for its last dual meet of the season on Feb. 7, as it hosts Oregon State.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State may have found its stride after its four-year hiatus from the sport as it had multiple top finishes last weekend against Cal State Bakersfield ... junior Rebecca Strmiska showcased domination in the 1000 freestyle event, finishing second with a best time of 12:05.07 ... continuing her dominance in backstroke, Heidi Gjoen nailed another first place finish in the 200 backstroke event, her second first-place finish of the afternoon ... The Bulldogs concluded the meet as they started it, earning a second-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay and a best time of 3:44.05 ... this week, the team travels south to San Diego to take on San Diego and Loyola Marymount in dual meets.
Rainbow Wahine
The Rainbow Wahine hosted their annual Hawai?i Diving Invitational three weeks ago ... last years’ NCAA 1-meter diving champion Emma Friesen won both the 1-meter and 3-meter during the invitational ... Friesen won the 1-meter with a score of 322.85 and won the 3-meter with a score of 288.75 ... UH also battled Wisconsin in a dual meet, but fell to the Badgers, 202-57 ... Freisen captured her second-consecutive first-place finish when she posted a 300.55 on the 1-meter board at the Rainbow Diving Invitational last weekend ... the swim team prepares for the Canadian Winter Nations on Feb. 12-15.
Idaho Vandals
The Vandals returned to action after a layoff of more than a month in duals against Boise State and Washington State last week ... Calleagh Brown set a season best for Idaho in the 100-yard butterfly at 59.52 ... Alyson O’Brien’s time of 52.89 set a Vandal season best in the 100-yard freestyle ... Elizabeth Jagusch set the new fastest time of the season for the team in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:06.18 ... Friday was Jagusch’s first meet since last February because of a broken collar bone ... UI has a week off to prepare for a home meet against Washington on Feb. 8 before the WAC Championship in San Antonio on Feb. 25-28.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada closes out the regular season at San Jose State on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. ... the Wolf Pack enter the dual with a 6-2 mark while the Spartans are 14-1 ... the two squads met the first week of the season in Las Cruces, N.M., with SJSU winning 127-115 ... Saturday’s dual is a preview of two of the top teams in the WAC ... junior Margaret Doolittle and senior Courtney Eads lead Nevada, each owning top times in the conference ... following the SJSU meet, Nevada will begin preparation to defend its WAC title on Feb. 25-28 in San Antonio, Texas. ... Nevada has won the last two conference titles.
New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies ended their dual season in style with a rout of Mountain West and in-state rival New Mexico, 178-105 this week ... this marks the second-consecutive victory over the Lobos for NMSU ... in 100 backstroke, Stephanie Peacock scored for the Aggies with a second-place finish ... NM State swept the 100 breaststroke with freshman Maria Spies and sophomores Alannah Lawrence and Kelly Runestrand finishing 1-2-3 ... junior Victoria Eickerman earned a pair of victories in the 100 and 200 butterfly ... the Aggie diving team travels to Colorado Springs, Colo., to compete in the Air Force Diving Invite this week, while the swim team prepares for the WAC Championship, Feb. 25-28.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
NAU set a pool record in the first event of the day and went on to win 12 of 16 events en route to a 176-120 win over WAC foe San Diego on Jan. 24 ... the 200 medley relay team of Meredith Egloria, Maria Hechanova, Tami Binek and Rachael Foe won in a pool record time of 1:57.40 to start the meet off on the right foot for NAU ... Foe went on to win three individual events, the 50 freestyle, the 100 butterfly and the 200 individual medley ... her winning time of 1:03.88 in the 100 fly was just 0.06 off the pool record ... sophomore Megan Collier earned WAC Diver of the Week honors for her third-place finish at USC ... this week, NAU divers travel to the Air Force Diving Invite, while the swim team is idle until the WAC Championships, Feb. 25-28.
San Diego Toreros
USD dropped its second consecutive dual last weekend, as the Toreros fell to WAC foe Northern Arizona, 176-120 ... senior Sarah Gleason finished in first place in the 800 freestyle (9:28.79) and the 400 freestyle (4:34.73) ... teammate Sarah Geerdes earned a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle (2:08.25) and was second in the 50 freestyle (27.33) ... the Toreros return to their home pool on Saturday, Jan. 31, when they host the Beach Cup at 10:30 a.m. at the USD Swim Complex.
San Jose State Spartans
The Spartans are coming off a 171-109 victory over Cal State Bakersfield and head into the most anticipated dual of the season with Nevada this weekend ... SJSU has an athlete on top of the conference in 12 events ... freshman standout Heather Denman leads the WAC in four events, including the 100 and 200 fly, as well as the 100 and 200 backstroke ... the team owns a 14-1 record in duals, with its lone loss coming to Pac 10 powerhouse Stanford ... Spartan swimmers took the top two spots in three of the first four events, to take a commanding lead early against UCB ... SJSU and Nevada are set to square off in San Jose at 11 a.m. on Saturday.