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CSU Bakersfield
The Roadrunner women went 2-1 in their quad-meet hosted by UC San Diego, NCAA Division II's No. 2 ranked team. CSUB handily defeated Loyola Marymount and Colorado Mesa, but fell to the Tritons without one of their senior leaders, Michaela Paige, who sat out due to injury. Several personal bests fell on Saturday for the ‘Runners including for junior diver Carlee Burks, who posted PRs on both boards and a school record on the 3-meter board. The Roadrunner men took on Colorado Mesa and UC San Diego, the No. 5 ranked team in NCAA Division II. CSUB downed CMU, but fell in a tight dual against UCSD. CSUB won six individual events including doubles from freshman sprinter Christopher Salcido and sophomore diver Brayden Greenwald.
Northern Arizona
NAU competed in its annual Pac-12 double dual versus Arizona and Oregon State last Friday in Tucson, Ariz. where the Lumberjacks lost to No. 7 Arizona, 195-96, but also defeating Oregon State, 198-94.5. The win over Oregon State, out of the Pac-12, was just the second all-time for NAU in program history and snapped a four-year losing streak to the Beavers. NAU also defeated Oregon State solely on swimming points by 72, before picking up all of the diving points due to OSU not fielding any divers on its roster.
Seattle U
Seattle University picked up two dual meet victories over the weekend against Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash., winning 149-55 on Friday and 135-68 on Saturday. The Redhawks officially won 10 of 11 events Friday and 9 of 11 events Saturday. Madi Lydig and Blaise Wittenauer-Lee each won two individual events in both meets. Kelly Hartman was victorious twice on Friday, while Jane Liggett earned two individual event wins on Saturday. Annika Perry picked up one event win each day. Seattle U heads to Colorado Springs, Colo., for back-to-back meets against the U.S. Air Force Academy and South Dakota Friday, Jan. 15, and Saturday, Jan. 16.
WAC Swimmer & Diver of the Week
Grand Canyon's Mark Nikolaev and Mike Bidak have been named Western Athletic Conference Swimmer and Diver of the week, respectively, for Jan. 4-10.
Nikolaev, a freshman from Seltso, Russia (Seltsovkaya) led #33 Grand Canyon in their victory over #28 BYU (CollegeSwimming.com Rankings) with 4 wins (3 individual and 1 relay) and achieved two NCAA B Cuts and one team record in the process. Nikolaev's 100 Back time had a CollegeSwimmimg.com performance score of 827.0 - the top score in the WAC this week for men. It is an NCAA B Cut and it is the 2nd fastest 100 Back time in the WAC this season, Mark already has the fastest time in the WAC from a meet earlier this season. The freshman was also on the first place 200-medley relay. His lead-off 50 Back time of 22.27 is a GCU team record.
Bidak, a senior from Scottsdale, Ariz. (Horizon) scored a 324.30 in the 1M for a first place finish and a 315.75 in the 3M for a second place finish. Bidak's performance was critical to Grand Canyon's success in beating BYU.
Grand Canyon's Estela Davis Ortiz and CSU Bakersfield's Carlee Burks have been named Western Athletic Conference Swimmer and Diver of the week, respectively, for Jan. 4-10.
Davis Ortiz, a sophomore from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico/CBTIS 114 (Bowling Green) won four events (3 individual and 1 relay) against BYU and NM State. Davis Ortiz's 400 IM time had a CollegeSwimmimg.com performance score 693.0 and was the highest ranked swim in the WAC this week. The sophomore swam the 100 back with a time of 56.52 and was the 2nd highest ranked swim in the WAC this week according to CollegeSwimming.com.
Burks, a junior from Bakersfield, Calif. (Centennial HS) dominated the competition en route to victories on both boards against UC San Diego, the No. 2 ranked squad in NCAA Division II. Burks' 3-meter score of 337.28 not only defeated the next closest competitor by 57 points, but also increased the Bakersfield native's WAC lead by 55 points. The mark, which would have won the WAC by almost 20 points last season, helped Burks smash CSUB's 11-year-old school record. The junior went on to win the 1-meter competition as well with a score of 301.50, another personal best. Burks moved from third all-time for the ‘Runners in the event to second and was just two points off the school record.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2015 WAC Swimming and Diving Championship travels to Houston, Texas. The UNLV men's swim team captured the WAC title while the Northern Arizona women's team took the crown at the WAC championships last year.