ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (Dec. 29-Jan. 4)
DENVER ? San Jose State’s Lauren Mar and Jo Thibodaux have been named Western Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Athletes of the week, respectively, for the week of Dec. 29- Jan. 4.
Mar, a senior swimmer from San Francisco, Calif. (Sacred Heart Cathedral), was the Spartans’ top performer in a pair of road competitions over the first weekend of the new year. In a 166.5-109.5 victory at Cal State Bakersfield on Jan. 3 that extended the Spartans’ win streak to 10 straight meets since a season-opening loss at No. 2 Stanford, Mar was first in her only individual event of the day, sprinting 24.72 in the 50 free. She also led off the first-place ?A’ 400 freestyle
relay to conclude the meet, with the foursome timing 3:38.76. Mar then participated in six of 10 events at the UC Irvine/Ayres Hotels Relay Invitational in Irvine, Calif., on Jan. 4, as the defending champion Spartans were narrowly edged by Nebraska for the title, 423-400. Mar swam the second leg of the winning 3x100 backstroke relay. This marks the first time this season Mar has garnered the award.
Thibodaux, a sophomore diver from Alvin, Texas (Alvin HS), out-performed freshman teammate Jessica Holden in a dual meet at Cal State Bakersfield on Jan. 3, as she placed second on both the one-meter and three-meter springboards with scores of 245.33 and 246.38 points, respectively, to aid in the 166.5-109.5 Spartan victory. At the UC Irvine/Ayres Hotels Diving Invitational on Jan. 4, Thibodaux placed fourth in the three-meter and fifth in the one-meter competition. She scored 236.10 points to finish just behind Holden from three meters, and 222.20 points to finish four spots ahead of her teammate from one meter. This is the third time this season the sophomore has earned the weekly award.
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. 11 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. The Bulldogs return to competition against No. 17 UC Davis and No. 3 San Jose State this Saturday in Davis, Calif.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
The Rainbow Wahine finished in fifth-place at the twelve-team Husky Invite in Federal Way, Wash. last month. UH ended the meet with 513 points, just a half point better than WAC foe Boise State. . 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. Hawai?i will next take on Wisconsin as well as Boise State in a WAC meet beginning on Jan. 9 in Honolulu.
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 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. The Wolf Pack now prepares for San Jose State in a match-up of the top two teams in the conference on Jan. 31 in San Jose, Calif.
New Mexico State Aggies
NMSU came 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. before completing a three-meet streak of wins with a 152-105 victory over Loyola Marymount on Dec. 19. After nearly a month off, the Aggies return to the pool on Jan. 17 when they travel to Greeley, Colo. to take on Northern Colorado.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
NAU lost to three Pac-10 schools in Tucson on last week. The Lumberjacks lost 254.5 to 45.5 to the defending national champs Arizona, 161-139 to Oregon State and 201-98 to Washington. Sophomore Taryn Harris won both the 1-meter and 3-meter events vs. Arizona, Cornell and the Colorado School of Mines. NAU divers placed first, third, fourth, fifth and seventh on the 3-meter. Harris, Megan Collier and Lana Christensen (first, third and fourth on 3-meter, respectively) all earned NCAA Zone qualifying scores again, as they had all qualified already. NAU will not compete again until it hosts Loyola Marymount in a dual meet on Jan. 17.
San Diego Toreros
San Diego recorded a ninth-place finish after three days of competition at the Nike Cup last month. 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. The team swam to a fifth-place finish at the UC Irvine Relays. It finished with 118 points in the seven-team meet. The Toreros next face cross-town rival UC San Diego on Jan. 17 and then prepare for a WAC meet at Northern Arizona.
San Jose State Spartans
San Jose State improved to an impressive 10-1 with its 10th straight dual meet victory since a season-opening loss at No. 2 Stanford exactly three months ago after a 166.5-109.5 victory over Cal State Bakersfield last week. The Spartans appeared at an all-time high of third-place in the second installment of this season’s CSCAA/CollegeSwimming.com Division I Mid-Major rankings last week. SJSU then swam to a second-place finish at the UC Irvine Relays as they garnered 400 points just 23 points behind Nebraska. The Spartans return to the pool this week as they take on UC Davis and Fresno State in California
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.
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
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.