SAN ANTONIO - The University of Nevada won its third consecutive Western Athletic Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship on Saturday night at the Palo Alto College Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas. The Wolf Pack finished the meet with 639 points followed by Northern Arizona with 623. New Mexico State was third with 572, while San Jose State placed fourth with 511.5. Hawai?i finished fifth with 463.5 followed by Boise State (391), San Diego (248), Idaho (170) and Fresno State (121).
Nevada senior Courtney Eads earned WAC Swimmer of the Year honors, the second straight year a Wolf Pack swimmer has earned the award following Margaret Doolittle’s honor in 2008. Hawai?i junior Emma Friesen was named the WAC Diver of the Year, giving the Rainbow Wahine that award in seven of the last eight seasons. New Mexico State head coach Rick Pratt was named the WAC Coach of the Year after leading his team to a third place finish, while Mike Brown of Hawai?i was voted Diving Coach of the Year for the fourth year in a row and fifth time in his career. San Jose State’s Heather Denman was awarded the Spartans’ first Freshman of the Year award.
In the first race of the night, San Diego’s Sarah Gleason won the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:47.18, the first gold for the Toreros since the 2006 WAC Championships. She beat New Mexico State’s Ana Smith (16:51.00) and Northern Arizona’s Kate Schafer (16:58.14).
Denman won her second individual gold medal, winning the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:59.58. The Spartans were 1-2 as Kate Nelson took the silver in a time of 2:00.59. Fresno State’s Heidi Gjoen was third in a time of 2:00.65, the first medal for a Bulldog this year.
Boise State freshman Stephanie North picked up the Broncos’ first ever gold medal with a time of 50:41 in the 100 freestyle. Her teammate, Amber Boucher, was second (50.60), just ahead of San Jose State Lauren Mar (50.63).
New Mexico State freshman Maria Spies swept the breaststroke events after winning the 200 in 2:12.02, an NCAA provisional qualifying time. Nevada’s Summer Halwas-Morgan was second for the second straight year with another provisional time of 2:13.57, while Northern Arizona’s Danielle Filipp took the bronze in 2:16.02.
Eads won her third event of the meet, taking the title in the 200 butterfly in 1:56.87. Last year’s champion, Nevada’s Kim Kabesh was second (1:58.07) while Elliko Heimbach of Hawai?i was third in 1:58.16. All three swam NCAA provisional times.
Raquel Bartlow of Hawai?i won the platform diving with a score of 263.90, givng the Rainbow Wahine a sweep of the three diving events. Nevada’s Candice Minette placed (211.20) while New Mexico State’s Mariesa Cloud was third (210.25).
Nevada then clinched the team title by winning the 400 free relay in an NCAA provisional time of 3:22.45 with the team of Kabesh, Doolittle, Danielle Maddoc and Eads. Boise State took the silver (3:23.82) and Hawai?i won bronze (3:23.91).
Individual Honors (as voted upon by the WAC coaches)
Swimmer of the Year - Courtney Eads, Sr., Nevada
Diver of the Year - Emma Friesen, Jr., Hawai?i
Freshman of the Year - Heather Denman, San Jose State
Diving Coach of the Year - Mike Brown, Hawai?i
Coach of the Year - Rick Pratt, New Mexico State
Friday's Recap
SAN ANTONIO - Nevada had a strong third day showing and reclaimed the lead at the 2009 Western Athletic Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships being held at the Palo Alto College Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas. The Wolf Pack are looking to earn its third consecutive WAC championship with one more day of competition remaining.
In Friday’s finals, Nevada’s Summer Halwas-Morgan won the 400-yard individual medley for the second straight year with a time of 4:19.28, finishing more than six seconds faster than the next fastest swimmer. Liz Thomson of New Mexico State earned the silver medal for the third-straight year with a time of 4:25.35. Nevada sophomore Marichi Gandionco was third, clocking a time of 4:25.43.
Hawai?i’s Elliko Heimbach won the 100 butterfly in a time of 53.29 to earn her second victory of the championships (50 free). The defending champion, Nevada’s Kim Kabesh, took home silver medalist honors with a time of 53.68, just ahead of San Jose State freshman Heather Denman (53.70). All three swam NCAA provisional times.
In the 200 freestyle, Nevada’s Courtney Eads also won her second gold medal of the championship (to go along with the 500 free title), recording a time of 1:48.78. Boise State freshman Stephanie North placed second (1:49.70) while Hawai?i’s Emma Berry, last year’s champion in this event, took the bronze with a time of 1:49.83.
New Mexico State freshman Maria Spies won the 100 breaststroke, breaking the WAC Championship record with an NCAA provisional time of 1:00.98. The previous WAC meet record was set last year by Nevada’s Margaret Doolittle. Spies’ teammate Alannah Lawrence took second in the event with a time of 1:02.81 after placing third last year. San Jose State’s Kirsten Trammell was third with a time of 1:02.37, one hundredth of a second better than Doolittle. All four top finishers swam NCAA provisional marks.
San Jose State went 1-2 in the 100 backstroke as Denman won the event with an NCAA provisional time of 53.99 while her teammate Lauren Mar swam a 55.17. Last year’s champion, Nevada’s Jeanette Tour, was third with a time of 55.29.
After winning the one-meter event the past three years, Hawai?i’s Emma Friesen took home her first three-meter diving title with a score of 361.20. Nevada’s Candice Minette was second with a score of 321.60 while Northern Arizona’s Taryn Harris took the bronze (312.30).
In the final event of the evening, Nevada won its third consecutive 400 medley relay title with an NCAA provisional time of 3:40.55. The team consisted of Jeanette Tour, Doolittle, Kim Kabesh and Eads. San Jose State was second (3:42.50) while New Mexico State placed third (3:44.98).
After three days of competition, Nevada leads with 442 points, while Northern Arizona is second with 426. New Mexico State is third with 361 points followed by San Jose State with 341, Hawai?i 340, Boise State 262, San Diego 178, Idaho 129 and Fresno State 87.
Thursday's Recap
SAN ANTONIO - Hawai?i won three of the five events in day two of the 2009 Western Athletic Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, but Northern Arizona racked up enough points in the finals of those events to take the lead in the four-day championship.
The night began with Nevada’s Courtney Eads and San Diego’s Sarah Gleason earning the top two spots in the 500-yard freestyle. Eads recorded an NCAA consideration time of 4:47.39 while Gleason swam a 4:55.24. Last year’s champion Emma Berry of Hawai?i finished third with a time of 4:56.92.
In the 200 individual medley, Northern Arizona’s Rachael Foe took home first place honors with a time of 2:01.49 to edge out last year’s champion, Margaret Doolittle of Nevada, by three-tenths of a second. San Diego’s Sarah Geerdes finished third and clocked a time of 2:02.30.
Hawai?i senior Elliko Heimbach took the gold in the 50 free with a time of 23.16, edging out the morning’s top qualifier, Northern Arizona’s Rachael Foe, by .06 seconds. It was the second year in a row that Foe placed second in the event. A pair of Boise State freshmen -- Stephanie North and Amber Boucher -- tied for third with times of 23.24.
For the third year in a row, Emma Friesen of Hawai?i took the top spot in the one-meter springboard with a new WAC and meet record of 338.40 points. Candice Minette of Nevada took second for the second straight year with 300.90 points, while Northern Arizona’s Taryn Harris grabbed the bronze with 287.05.
Hawai?i won the final event of the day swimming a 1:32.91 in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team consisted of Karli Rice, Victoria Tan, Maura Barrett and Heimbach.
After two days of competition, Northern Arizona leads the meet with 245 points while Nevada is in second with 211. Hawai?i is third with 183 points followed by New Mexico State with 166, San Jose State 162, Boise State 152, San Diego 121, Idaho 87 and Fresno State with 55.
Wednesday's Recap
SAN ANTONIO - The 2009 Western Athletic Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship began today with Nevada winning the 200-yard medley relay and Hawai?i capturing the 800-yard freestyle relay for the third year in a row. Nevada is in first place with 72 points after day one of the four-day event.
Nevada’s team of Jeanette Tour, Margaret Doolittle, Marichi Gandionco and JayDee Huppert took first in the 200-yard medley relay with an NCAA consideration time of 1:40.88. San Jose State was second with another NCAA consideration time of 1:41.28.
In the only other race of the day, Hawai`i took the gold medal with a win in the 800 freestyle relay. The Rainbow Wahine team of Elliko Heimbach, Ricarda Schellenberg, Maura Barrett and Emma Berry won with an NCAA consideration time of 7:18.76.
After one day of competition, Nevada is the leader with 72 points. Hawai?i and Northern Arizona are tied for second with 64 points followed by Boise State, New Mexico State and San Jose State with 58 points apiece. In seventh is San Diego with 50 points, followed closely by Idaho with 48 points and Fresno State with 36 points.
Championship Preview