March 1, 2000
Aztecs Finish Sixth at MWC Championships
San Diego State swimming capped off the 1999-2000 season with a sixth-place finish at the Mountain West Conference Championships in Oklahoma City. Brigham Young won the meet while UNLV and Colorado State finished second and third, respectively.
The Aztecs had five swimmers with top-eight finishes including Lisa Beebe, Meghan Casillan, Heather DeFelice, Erin Kilpatrick and Mariana Luevano.
Eleven Aztecs scored points either as a member of a relay or on an individual basis.
Casillan Is MWC's Top Backstroker
Sophomore Meghan Casillan established herself as the MWC's best backstroker by taking home top honors in the 100 and 200 back at the MWC Championships. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native won the 100 with a time of 56.77, breaking her previous record of 56.82 which she set at last year's Western Athletic Conference Championships. In the 200, Casillan smashed her old personal best of 2:04.86 (also at the WAC last year) when she touched the wall at 2:01.08 in Oklahoma City.
DeFelice Is Aztecs' Best All-Around
Sophomore Heather DeFelice scored more points in MWC Championships individual competition than any other Aztec. The native of Culver City, Calif., was the only Aztec to score in all three events in which she competed as she tallied 41 points for the entire meet. DeFelice finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke, fifth in the 200 individual medley and seventh in the 200 breast. Casillan was right behind her with 40 and junior Mariana Luevano was third with 38.
Earlier this year, DeFelice was named the MWC swimmer of the week for the period of Jan. 3rd-9th, 2000. She has consistently been the Aztecs top all-around swimmer this year and is listed in four different events on SDSU's all-time individual best times.
Casillan, Kilpatrick Set School Records
Casillan's 100 and 200 backstroke times in Oklahoma City are the fastest times ever by an SDSU swimmer in those events.
Freshman Erin Kilpatrick is also listed at the the top of the record books as she is now the fastest Aztec ever in the 400 individual medley, an event in which she finished second at conference.
Four Aztecs Qualify for Postseason Competition
Casillan, DeFelice, Luevano and Kilpatrick have all qualified for U.S. Swimming Senior Nationals at the end of March in the 400 medley relay.
Casillan and DeFelice will also swim individually. Casillan has qualified in the 100 and 200 back while DeFelice is one of the nation's fastest in the 100 breaststroke.
Casillan will also have the opportunity to compete in both backstroke events at Olympic Trials in August.
Aztecs Say Goodbye to Seniors
San Diego State bids farewell to two seniors this season, Erin Stenvers and Heather Gravendaal.
Stenvers came to SDSU after a year at Santa Rosa Junior College. As a junior at SDSU, she finished seventh overall in the 200 breaststroke at the WAC Championships. She was a two-year captain and leaves Montezuma Mesa listed among some of the fastest Aztecs' swimmers ever. She is second all-time in the 100 breast with a time of 1:06.29, third all-time in the 200 breast with a 2:23.69 and fifth all-time in the 200 individual medley with a 2:10.94. All of those times were recorded during her sophomore campaign.
Gravendaal had an immediate impact on the San Diego State swimming program when she joined the team her junior year. Since the SDSU swimming program was reinstated in 1994, Gravendaal has posted the third fastest time in the 50 freestyle when she swam 24.67 at the MWC Championships - the second-best time by an Aztec in the 50 free this year. Since reinstatement, she is third best in the 100 free at 53.67 and fourth in the 100 butterfly at 58.97.
Aztecs at the MWC Championships
50 Freestyle
19. Heather Gravendaal 24.67
25. Tara Johnson 24.81
29. Heidi Matsumoto 25.06
38. Amber Crosby 25.80
42. Vicky Donnelly 27.17
100 Freestyle
26. Heidi Matsumoto 54.91
27. Heather Gravendaal 55.03
200 Freestyle
11. Erin Kilpatrick 1:54.27
14. Erin Smith 1:55.74
25. Natalie Pennell 1:59.88
500 Freestyle
12. Lisa Beebe 5:05.84
18. Erin Smith 5:11.78
30. Natalie Pennell 5:23.88
1650 Freestyle
4. Lisa Beebe 17:21.15
14. Erin Smith 18:04.80
17. Natalie Pennell 18:32.35
100 Butterfly
9. Mariana Luevano 57.63
12. Tara Johnson ^58.35
15. Heather Gravendaal ^58.97
200 Butterfly
5. Erin Kilpatrick 2:05.97
6. Mariana Luevano ^2:05.33
9. Tara Johnson ^2:07.28
100 Backstroke
1. Meghan Casillan *56.77
3. Mariana Luevano ^57.57
21. Amber Crosby 1:00.68
29. Vicky Donnelly 1:04.60
200 Backstroke
1. Meghan Casillan *2:01.08
21. Amber Crosby 2:11.85
31. Vicky Donnelly 2:20.72
100 Breaststroke
4. Heather DeFelice *1:04.78
15. Erin Stenvers ^1:07.58
27. Rhiannon Dube 1:12.94
200 Breaststroke
7. Heather DeFelice 2:21.62
22. Erin Stenvers 2:30.05
28. Rhiannon Dube 2:34.36
200 Individual Medley
5. Heather DeFelice ^2:06.80
21. Meghan Casillan 2:12.06
33. Erin Stenvers 2:17.52
38. Rhiannon Dube 2:24.33
400 Individual Medley
2. Erin Kilpatrick* 4:28.11
9. Lisa Beebe 4:35.01
400 Medley Relay
4. SDSU 3:52.11
200 Freestyle Relay
7. SDSU 1:37.80
400 Freestyle Relay
7. SDSU 3:36.14
800 Freestyle Relay
5. SDSU 7:47.01
One-Meter Diving
16. Kim Hamerly 264.80 pts.
Three-Meter Diving
16. Kim Hamerly 299.10
^ = preliminary time (faster than finals)
* = school record
1999-2000 Final Results
Date Opponent Result
10/22-23 at Colorado State Invitational 3rd (10 teams)
11/5 Loyola Marymount W/110-12
11/5 University of San Diego L/72-68
11/11 at New Mexico L/67-28
11/11 vs. Colorado State L/56-38
11/12-13 at New Mexico Invitational 3rd (5 teams)
11/19 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo W/142-97
11/20 at Fresno State L/176-108
11/20 vs. Oregon State L/179.5-104.5
12/2-4 at Speedo Cup 10th (24 teams)
1/6 Loyola Marymount W/133-42
1/6 Utah W/116-95
1/8-9 at UC Irvine Invitationals
1/8 Individual Invitational 2nd (10 teams)
1/8 Distance Invitational 1st (10 teams)
1/9 Relay Invitational 2nd (5 teams)
1/13 at Northern Arizona W/46-17
1/27 Pepperdine W/86-54
1/27 Hawai`i L/92-48
1/29 at UNLV L/160.50-117.50
1/29 vs. Air Force W/172.50-106.50
2/16-19 at MWC Championships 6th (8 teams)