ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (Nov. 10-16)
San Jose State's Heather Denman and Idaho's Paige Hunt were named the Verizon WAC Swimmer and Diver of the week, respectively, for Nov. 3-9.
Denman, a junior from Brookeville, Md. (Sherwood HS), won two individual titles and was part of the 400-freestyle relay team that
Northern Arizona's Krista Maier and Taryn Harris have been named the Verizon WAC Swimmer and Diver of the week, respectively, for Nov. 10-16.
Maier, a junior from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (Kealakehe HS), won three individual events in two separate meets during the weekend of Nov. 12-14. Maier won the 500-freestyle race against Washington State with a time of 5:06.30, which is the fourth-best time in the WAC this season. She would go on to claim the 500 free once again, this time against WAC foe Idaho, while also adding a victory in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:27.24; good enough for fourth best in the WAC.
Harris, a senior from East Wenatchee, Wash. (Southridge HS), swept the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events in a meet against fellow WAC school Idaho on Nov. 13. Her score of 269.93 on the 1-meter was more than 20 points higher than the closest Idaho competitor, while her score of 271.88 on the 3-meter was even more impressive as it was more than 25 points higher than Idaho's second-place finisher.
Other swimmers nominated: Heidi Gjoen, Fresno State
Other divers nominated: Stacey Luke, Fresno State
THIS WEEK IN WAC SWIMMING AND DIVING
Seven of the WAC's eight Swimming and Diving teams will be in action this week. Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Arizona and San Jose State will all be in Tucson, Ariz., for the Wildcat Diving Invitational from Nov. 19-21. Fresno State, Hawai'i and San Jose State will have swimmers at the Arena Invitational held in Long Beach, Calif., on Nov 18-20. Boise State will compete against WAC foe Northern Arizona on Nov. 20 as well.
TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
The Broncos (6-0) defeated North Texas and New Mexico State in dual meets on Oct. 22-23 in Las Cruces, N.M. ... Boise State defeated NMSU 140.5-102.5 on the first day of competition and followed that up with a 140-103 victory on the second day ... junior Stephanie North was the standout for the Broncos as she claimed four individual titles (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle (twice) and 200 freestyle) and was on two winning relay teams (200 freestyle and 200 medley) ... Boise also defeated North Texas by scores of 168-75 and 177-66 ... Boise State's divers compete at the Wildcat Diving Invitational on Nov. 19-21, while the swimmers take on Northern Arizona on Nov. 20.
Fresno State Bulldogs
The Bulldogs won five events and placed second nine times in their 170-124 loss to UC Davis on Nov. 13. ... Stacey Luke led Fresno State by winning the 1-meter diving event, scoring 168.00 points ... teammates Hannah Prigge and Kendra Weeks followed suit as they finished in second and third ... Dani Yoho earned another 50-yard freestyle victory as she finished with a time of 23.78 ... coming up, the Bulldogs will have a split squad as the swimmers head to the Arena Invitational in Long Beach, Calif., on Nov. 18-20, and the divers head to Tucson, Ariz., for the Wildcat Diving Invite on Nov. 19-21.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine
Hawai'i concluded its two-day dual diving event against Arizona State coming away with a win in the 3-meter dive ... sophomore Hannah Bocksnick won the event with a score of 319.60, while junior Daniella Nero finished in second with a score of 319.10 ... Nero also claimed second in the 1-meter event with a score of 279.75 ... next, Hawai'i will head to the Arena Invite in Long Beach, Calif., Nov. 18-20, and will also travel to the Wildcat Diving Invitational in Tuscon, Ariz., Nov. 19-21.
Idaho Vandals
The Vandals came up short against Northern Arizona losing as they lost 136-106 to the lumberjacks on Nov. 13 ... Idaho did record one-two finishes in the 100- and 200-freestyle races as Alyson O'Brien bested teammate Megan Venlos to win the 100 free with a time of 52.87. Venlos, in return, flipped things around by besting O'Brien in the 200 free with a time of 1:54.52 ... Si Jia Pang and Kelsie Saxe won the 50 free and 200 breastroke with times of 24.59 and 2:25.35, respectively ... the Vandals will take a short break in action before traveling to Reno, Nev., to battle the Wolf Pack on Dec. 4.
Nevada Wolf Pack
The Wolf Pack fell to 1-5 on the season after losing to Nebraska 166-134 on Nov. 6 in Reno, Nev. ... sophomore Mengjiao Mi once again had a stellar performance as she led the Wolf Pack with three individual first place finishes in the 200-yard (1:51.98), 100-yard (51.82) and 500-yard (5:02.67) freestyle races ... divers Grace Huang and Aniesa Debaji each snagged victories with Huang finishing first in the 3-meter with a score of 326.93 and Debaji taking the 1-meter with a score of 284.03 ... Nevada next faces Idaho in Reno, Nev. on Dec. 4.
New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies fell to Washington State 143.5-118.5 in their first road meet of the season on Nov. 5 ... senior Alannah Lawrence collected a pair of wins in the 100 and 200 breastroke ... sophomore Beth Cate also nabbed a pair of victories in the 200 fly and 500 freestyle ... New Mexico State concluded its two-meet road trip with a 149.5-93.5 loss to WAC opponent Idaho ... junior Carly Smith won the 3-meter diving event with a score of 277.35, and junior Maria Spies took first in the 200 breastroke (2:23.45) ... next up for the Aggies will be the Wildcat Diving Invitational on Nov. 19-21 in Tucson, Ariz.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Northern Arizona dropped its opening dual meet 164-98 to Washington State on Nov. 12 ... junior Krista Maier won the 500 freestyle in 5:06.30, while freshman Emma Lowther won her first collegiate event in the 1,000 freestyle recording a time of 10:23.60 ... the Lumberjacks defeated Idaho 136-106 on Nov. 13 ... Maier finished first in 500 and 1000 freestyle races ... sophomore Fi Connell had a pair of victories in the 200 individual medley (2:08.50) and 200 backstroke (2:05.79) ... senior Taryn Harris finished first in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events with scores of 269.93 and 271.88 ... the Lumberjacks will next be at home on Nov. 20 against Boise State.
San Jose State Spartans
The Spartans went into Davis, Calif., and came away with a 156-144 victory over UC Davis on Nov. 6 ... Heather Denman and Rudie Guerrero each won two individual titles, while Amy Friedhoff won the 1000 freestyle ... Denman won the 200 butterfly (2:04.45) and the 200 backstroke (2:04.44), and Guerrero won the 100 backstroke (56.65) and the 100 butterfly (57.32) ... divers Jessica Holden and Amy Kilby swept the diving events, with Holden claiming the 1-meter (248.25) and Kilby winning the 3-meter (241.35) ... the Spartans next travel to Long Beach, Calif., for the Arena Invite on Nov. 18-20.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS TO SAN ANTONIO – The 2011 edition of the WAC Championship returns to Palo Alto Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas. Boise State will look to defend its 2010 title in hopes of repeating as WAC champions. The championship will be held Feb. 23-26, 2011.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP:
Finals: March 17-19, 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
The Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center
Host: Texas