Nov. 3, 2003
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This Week San Diego State will hit the road this week for a pair of Mountain West Conference dual meets. On Friday (Nov. 7), the Aztecs will be in Salt Lake City to take on Utah starting at 6:00 p.m. (MST). The next day (Nov. 8), SDSU will make the short trip over to Provo to face Brigham Young at 1:00 p.m.
Last Week Due to the fires in the San Diego area last week, the Aztecs' dual meet with the University of San Diego (scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center) was postponed. The meet will be rescheduled for a later date, most likely in January.
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 pool. The facility opened in the summer of 2002 and is located at 6845 University Avenue. The Aztecs hold their daily practice sessions at the City Heights Pool.
At the UOP Invitational San Diego State finished second in the six-team UOP Invitational during the weekend of Oct. 17-18. SDSU won a pair of events at that meet: the 800 freestyle relay (Melissa Webb, Hannah Ryan, Stella Karoly, Caitlin Friedhoff) and the 400 free relay (Emily Schmied, Sylvia DelMoral, Amy Osback, Stella Karoly). The team totaled 884.50 points over 18 swimming events (there was no diving competition during this meet) to finish second to host University of the Pacific.
Ryan Starts Strong Senior Hannah Ryan got her 2003-04 season off to an excellent start at the UOP Invitational two weeks ago. She swam a 17:31.69 in the 1,650 freestyle, the fourth-best time ever for an Aztec in that event. In the 500 freestyle, she recorded a time of 5:03.48 to establish a new personal career best at that distance. Her time of 1:55.31 in the 200 free was the best for SDSU at the meet. She was also a member of a pair of relay teams that finished no lower than second: the 800 free relay (1st) and the 200 free relay (2nd). Ryan accounted for a total of 58 points for SDSU during the two-day meet.
Friedhoff Impresses Freshman Caitlin Friedhoff, a prep All-American from Kent, Wash., turned in the team's best times in a pair of events in her Aztec debut. She went 24.65 in the 50 free and 53.62 in the 100 free. Those times would have ranked as the second and third-fastest times respectively for SDSU during the 2002-03 campaign. Friedhoff also swam on the first-place 800 free relay team, second-place 200 free relay team, and the second-place 400 medley relay team
Karoly Leads Medley Events Stella Karoly, a freshman from Kapolei, Hawaii, had a fine outing in the medley relay events. She finished third in the 400 IM and fifth in the 200 IM, and was the Aztecs' top swimmer in each of those events.
Webb Shows Versatility Sophomore Melissa Webb, who came on last season to earn all-conference honors in the 200 backstroke at the league championships, took up where she left off by pacing SDSU in both the 100 and 200 backstroke events at the UOP Invitational. She finished fourth overall in the 100 (1:01.42) and third in the 200 (2:10.19). Webb was also a member of both relay squads (800 free and 400 IM) that took first place at the meet.
Fernandez Sets New Personal Best Senior Allison Fernandez began her fourth year as an Aztec by setting a personal career best in the 200 freestyle at the UOP Invitational. She turned in a time of 2:03.11, bettering her previous best by 2.81 seconds.
The Schedule For the second consecutive season, the Aztecs will face each of the other seven Mountain West Conference schools in dual meet action beginning with an away contest at Utah on Nov. 7. The Aztecs will host three MWC teams in dual meets at home, and conference action will be concluded by Dec. 6. SDSU will compete in the annual UCI Invitational in early January and conclude the regular season with three dual meets on the road before traveling to Oklahoma City for the annual conference championship meet in mid-February.
Looking Ahead The Aztecs will host their first meet of the season when conference rival New Mexico visits the Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center. Start time the meet is 12:00 p.m.