SAN ANTONIO ? The 2009 edition of the Western Athletic Conference swimming and diving championship gets underway in San Antonio, Texas this week, Feb. 25-28. Over the four days, nine teams will compete for the conference championship in the Palo Alto Natatorium. Nevada will look to defend its 2007 and 2008 crowns. Last year, Nevada finished with 725.5 points ahead of second-place Northern Arizona (605). Hawai?i finished in third place with 574.5, as San Jose State (480.5) and New Mexico State (460.5) battled it out. Idaho (305), Boise State (243) and San Diego (241) rounded out the meet.
The top of the standings is not foreign to Nevada as the team has finished in the top four of the WAC Championships every season since joining the conference in 2001, including three second-place finishes. The 2008 WAC Swimmer of the Year, junior Margaret Doolittle, returns for the Wolf Pack as she looks to defend her title. On the springboard, Nevada boasts senior Candice Minette, who holds the conference dual records in the 1-meter and 3-meter events with scores of 328.15 and 396.95, respectively.
Also on the radar for this year’s championships is San Jose State. The Spartans bring 16 consecutive victories into San Antonio and a 16-1 overall record, including two wins over two-time defending WAC champion Nevada. They are led by senior Lauren Mar who holds a conference-best time in the 100 free. The real surprise has been freshman Heather Denman. Denman, a Maryland native, holds top times in the 100 fly, 200 fly, 100 back and 200 back. The standout true freshman has also set four school records and collected 25 straight individual victories in dual meets to close out her first season of college swimming. Northern Arizona will look to compete with the best of them after a 7-9 record in dual meet competition, including going 2-3 against WAC opponents. Lumberjack athletes collected five WAC Athlete of the Week honors throughout the course of the 2008-09 season. NAU brings strong relay times to this week’s championships, it owns the top 200 free relay time. Junior Rachael Foe leads the team in the freestyle and fly events, while Taryn Harris, a sophomore, will compete on the springboard.
The Rainbow Wahine split their dual meets 1-1 this season, including a 161-137 defeat of WAC opponent Boise State. UH brings in a strong diving team led by the 2008 1-meter diving champion, junior Emma Friesen. Friesen posted a season-best 322.85 on the 1-meter board against Boise State, the mark ranks No. 2 in the conference. Mike Brown, looks to defend his Co-Diving Coach of the Year. With a promising young team, New Mexico State looks to improve on its fifth-place finish from 2008. Freshman Maria Spies, one-time WAC Swimmer of the Week, leads the conference with the best 200 breaststroke time of 2:14.14, which is a NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Her time in the 100 and 200 breast are both school records. Sophomore Mariesa Cloud will lead the diving portion of the championship for the Aggies as she has posted top five scores in both the 1 and 3-meter events this season.
Idaho is led by sophomore Anna Humphrey who posted a top 15 time in the 100 backstroke in mid-January. Senior Amanda Morrow will compete with the divers after she broke a 23-year-old school record on the 1-meter board earlier in the year. The Vandals ended the season with a 1-5 dual meet record, but posted a 5-4 record at the WAC Shootout at the beginning of the season. Finishing in seventh-place last year, Boise State is the newest program of all the WAC schools. In just its third year of existence, the Broncos set 30 new team records throughout the season, including a new team-high in scoring with 512.5 points at the Husky Invitational on Dec. 4-6. The record nearly doubled the previous record of 258 and more than doubled last year’s performance at the Husky Invitational. Freshmen Amber Boucher and Stephanie North, both one-time WAC Swimmers of the Week, lead BSU in the pool.
Leading the Toreros of San Diego, senior Sarah Gleeson and junior Adelaine Bednarski take on the competition in their respective events. Gleeson tries her luck in the freestyle events, while Bednarski will take to the spring board for USD. Freshman Sarah Geerdes owns the fourth-best time in the individual medley. This year, Fresno State makes a return to the Swimming and Diving Championships after the program was discontinued after the 2003-04 season. The team earned over 90 percent of its season best times over the course of two days at the Cal Poly Invitational in early December.
WAC TO STREAM SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIP - The Western Athletic Conference, in conjunction with its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, has announced it will stream the finals of all four night of the 2009 WAC Swimming & Diving Championships, Feb. 25-28. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.WAC.tv.
The championship will be held at the Palo Alto Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas. On Wednesday, Feb. 25, there will be finals in two relays, the 200-yard medley and 800 freestyle. Viewers that sign up, will be able to watch those two events for free. Full schedules begin Thursday with finals in several events the next three nights. Each of those three nights can be viewed for a subscription of $5.95 or a full championship package can be purchased for $9.95. Finals begin at 6:30 p.m. CT on all four nights.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Location
Palo Alto College Natatorium
San Antonio, TX
Dates
February 25-28, 2009
Live Results
Results will be posted following every heat on the WAC's website
WAC.TV
All four finals sessions will be available via live streaming on WAC.tv.
Click here for more information and to sign up.
Tickets
All-Session Passes (includes all 10 sessions) are $35 for adults and $25 for children ages 18 and under.
Single Session prices are as follows:
Wednesday evening relays: $5
Prelims: Adults $7, Children $5
Diving: Adults $7, Children $5
Finals: Adults $8, Children $5
Parking
Fan parking is available at the Palo Alto College Natatorium free of charge.
Concessions
Concessions will be available and will be located outside the entrance to the pool.
Driving Directions
From Downtown-Merge onto Interstate 35 South via the ramp on the left. Take the TX-422 Spur exit 148A on the left towards TX-16 S/Poteet. Merge onto Poteet Jourdanton Fwy/TX-422 Spur South. Turn left onto West Villaret Blvd.
Merchandise
Click here for apparel available from the championship
San Antonio
For more information regarding all that the city of San Antonio has to offer, please click on the links below to visit the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau.
? Lodging
? Dining
? Area Map
? Local Entertainment and Attractions