Nov. 13, 2002
This Week
San Diego State hosts Air Force in its second and final home met of the 2002-03 season on Saturday, Nov. 16. The first event gets underway at 9:00 a.m. at the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center.
Coaching Staff
San Diego State head coach Deena Schmidt is in her ninth season as head coach of the Aztec swimming and diving program. The former Olympian, who won a gold as a member of the 400 medley relay team at the 1972 Olympics, is a 1988 graduate of San Diego State. Schmidt is assisted by Greg Hutt, also in his ninth season.
Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center
San Diego State will hold its home meets this season at the newly completed Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center pool. The facility opened this past summer and is located at 6845 University Avenue. The Aztecs hold their daily practice sessions from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the City Heights Pool.
Last Week
The Aztecs saw their dual meet record fall to 1-5 (0-4 MWC) on the season as they dropped three contests at New Mexico last Thursday (Nov. 7). In the triple dual meet held on the UNM campus, San Diego State fell to Brigham Young (113-128), Northern Arizona (107-134) and the host Lobos (100.5-140.5). SDSU's lone overall first place finish came in the 200 butterfly where senior Erin Kilpatrick won with a time of 209.49.
The following two days, the Aztecs competed in the Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque where they finished second of six teams. The finals standings for that event were as follows:
Team PointsBrigham Young........948.0San Diego State........840.5New Mexico...........831.5New Mexico State......580.5Northern Colorado......438.5Metro State...............60.0
San Diego State had a least two top six finishes in 12 of the 13 individual events at the meet. Its best showing came in the 100 fly where it took first (Emily Schmied), third (Amy Osback) and fourth (Kilpatrick). The Aztecs also got first-place finishes in the 1650 free from Megan Storey and in the 200 fly from Kilpatrick.
New Team Season Bests
Five individuals and three relay teams set new team best times during last week's action in New Mexico. Among those setting new SDSU season standards are Sarah Lattus (50 Free-24.96), Megan Storey (1650 Free-17:43.81), Erin Kilpatrick (200 Fly-2:11.30), Alexis Kilian (200 Back-2:09.98) and Lindsay Minnich (1-Meter Diving-155.85 pts.). Team best times were also recorded in the 200 Free Relay (1:41.36), 800 Free Relay (7:55.35), and 200 Medley Relay (1:51.35).
Kilpatrick Leads Aztecs
Senior Erin Kilpatrick continues to be one of the team leaders for the Aztecs this season. Last week, in the triple dual meet on Thursday, she recorded SDSU's only first-place (200 butterfly) and also finished fourth in both the 200 and 500 freestyle events. At the Lobo Invitational, she repeated her win in the 200 fly and also had individual fourth-place finishes in the 400 IM and the 100 fly. She also swam on three relays teams, none of which placed lower than fourth.
Storey Goes the Distance
Junior Megan Storey won the 1650 freestyle at the Lobo Invitational, finishing ahead of 18 other swimmers in that event. It was her first attempt at that distance this fall. She also recorded a third (of 37 competitors) place in the 500 free and showed her versatility with a fifth-place (of 24 swimmers) finish in the 200 butterfly.
Freshman Trio Shines
The Aztec first-year threesome of Amy Osback, Emily Schmied and Melissa Webb is helping set the pace for the SDSU swim team this season, and each was a major contributor at last week's second-place finish at the Lobo Invitational. Osback competed in seven different freestyle and butterfly events (four individual, three relays). Schmied took first in the 100 fly and also swam the 200 IM (4th) and 100 free (6th) plus three relay events. Webb finished third in the 200 free (44 competitors) and fifth in the 500 free (37 swimmers) plus participated in the 200 IM (6th of 44) and 200 back (5th of 28) as well as two relays.
The Schedule
For the first time since joining the Mountain West Conference, the league will crown a regular-season champion in addition to the conference meet champ. As a result, the Aztecs will swim dual meets against every other MWC school this season. The conference dual meet schedule will be concluded by Nov. 23. SDSU is slated to host just two meets this fall: the contest vs. Utah held on Oct. 26 and this weekend vs. Air Force. All other league meets will be away including the contest against Brigham Young, which will tool place at New Mexico on Nov. 7.
Looking Ahead
The Aztecs will make their final Mountain West Conference road swing of the season when they travel to the Rocky Mountain area for a pair of dual meets next weekend. On Friday (Nov. 22), SDSU will face Colorado State on Fort Collins beginning at 5:00 p.m. The next day (Sat., Nov. 23) they will be in Laramie to take on Wyoming at 1:00 p.m.