Swimming and Diving

Swimmers Prepare For Final MWC Dual Meets

Nov. 24, 2003

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This Week
San Diego State will have the week off from competition and will resume dual meet action on Saturday, Dec. 6, with a double dual meet in Fort Collins, Colo. The Aztecs will take on both Air Force and Colorado State beginning at 1:00 p.m. (MST) that afternoon. The event will be the final conference dual meets for SDSU this season as it will be the first team to complete its 2003-04 league schedule. Conversely, the meet will be the first MWC events of the season for both Air Force and Colorado State.

Coaching Staff
San Diego State head coach Deena Schmidt is in her 10th 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 10th season. Jim Wynne is in his second season as the Aztec diving coach. In addition, former Aztec all-conference swimmer Erin Kilpatrick will serve as a student assistant coach.

Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center
San Diego State will hold its home meets this season at the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center. The facility opened in the summer of 2002 and is located at 6845 University Avenue. The Aztecs hold their daily practices at the City Heights Pool.

Last Week
San Diego State got a split decision as it hosted a double dual conference meet against Wyoming and UNLV. The Aztecs were victorious over the Cowgirls by a score of 174-126, but fell to the Rebels, 107-193. With the three teams swimming together, SDSU's lone first-place finish was turned in by senior Hannah Ryan in the 200 free with a time of 1:52.25.

MWC Improvement
The results of last weekend's double dual meet improved the Aztecs' record to 2-3, both overall and in the Mountain West Conference. With two league dual meets remaining, SDSU has already improved its MWC win total over last year when it finished 1-6. One of the teams the Aztecs have yet to face in league action is Air Force, whom they defeated handily last season.

Ryan Records Another Personal Best
Senior Hannah set a new personal career best in winning the 200 freestyle last Saturday. Her time of 1:52.25 improved her previous best by .49 second and replaced that time as the second-fastest in SDSU history in the event. She also took second in the 500 free with a mark of 5:01.89 and led off the 400 free relay in a time of 53.76

Davis Emerges
Freshman Sarah Davis's time of 2:08.63 in the 200 backstroke last weekend is her personal best and ranks as the fifth-fastest time in Aztec history. She also turned in a 1:01.35 in the 100 backstroke, the second-best time for an Aztec swimmer this season. In addition to the backstroke, she has also competed in both the 200 and 400 IM this season.

The Storey Continues
Megan Storey swam her season-best times in both the 1,000 freestyle and the 200 backstroke at last Saturday's double dual event. Her mark of 10:20.81 in the 1,000 free was good for second place while her time of 2:09.78 in the 200 back gave her a third-place finish. She also took third in the 200 butterfly in 2:09.63.

Friedhoff Streak Ends
Freshman standout Caitlin Friedhoff had her streak of victories in the 100 free ended last weekend when she finished second with a time of 53.62. She had captured first place in the event in each of SDSU's last three dual meets. She also took second in the 50 free, clocking 24.96. In addition, she swam the anchor leg of the 400 free relay that went 3:35.51, the team's fastest time of the season.

Strong Event
As evidenced last weekend, the breaststroke continues to be one of San Diego State's strongest events this fall. The trio of Jennifer Graham (1:06.46), Jennifer Arrow (1:07.15) and Jill Karacozoff (1:07.90) finished second through fourth in the 100 breast against swimmers from Wyoming and UNLV, with Graham and Arrow recording season personal bests. In the 200 breast, Aztec swimmers finished second (Arrow-2:23.69), fourth (Karacozoff-2:25.68) and fifth (Graham-2:26.31) with all three athletes turning in their top times of the year.

Bests in the 100 Free
Four Aztecs had their best times of the season in the 100 freestyle last Saturday. That quartet included Hannah Ryan (53.76), Stephanie Chambers (54.85), Sylvia DelMoral (55.53) and Allison Fernandez (55.74). Ryan's time came as the leadoff swimmer in the 400 free relay.

Conference Standings
San Diego State has been picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West Conference this season by a poll of the league's coaches. The Aztecs were seventh in last year's final conference standings and finished eighth at the 2003-04 MWC Championship meet. SDSU is currently 2-3 in conference dual meets this season and will complete their league schedule on Dec. 6 at Colorado State. Entering the week, the MWC standings are as follows:

Team W L Pct.Utah..............2...0..1.000UNLV..............3...1....750BYU...............1...1....500Wyoming...........1...1....500San Diego State...2...3....400Air Force.........0...0....000Colorado State....0...0....000New Mexico........0...2....000

Looking Ahead
Following the away double dual meet on Dec. 6, the Aztecs will return home to host Northern Arizona on Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center Pool. It will be the team's last event of the calendar year as its next competition will be at the UCI Invitational on Jan. 3-4 in Irvine.