Dec. 1, 2009
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State swimming and diving team is receiving votes and is ranked 41st in the latest national Division I poll by CollegeSwimming.com. The Aztecs currently own a 5-1 dual meet record and are coming off a fourth-place finish (of 25 teams) at the Toshiba Classic (formerly Nike Cup) in Long Beach, Calif.
SDSU is having one of the finest seasons in the history of the program despite not reaching the midway point of the 2009-10 campaign. The Aztecs have set school records in 11 of 14 individual swimming events as well as a pair of relays.
Leading the way is a pair of freshmen in Leona Jennings and Stephanie Koch.
Jennings has set San Diego State records in the 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and 200 individual medley. In addition, she swam the leadoff leg in the for the record-setting 200 medley relay team. Her times in the 100 and 200 back as well as the 200 IM met the B Standard qualification marks for next spring's NCAA championships.
Koch arrived for her first collegiate season and promptly set new SDSU standards in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle races. She has also been involved in both the 800 free relay and 200 medley relay squads that have posted the fastest times in school history.
Other school records have been turned in by a pair of seniors and two freshmen. The senior record-setters include Elena Karpeeva in the 400 individual medley and Petra Radovic in the 1000 freestyle. The frosh duo is made up of Meghan Zimmer (500 freestyle) and Katelyn Weddle (100 breaststroke). Radovic and Zimmer (800 free relay) along with Weddle (200 medley relay) have also had a hand in relay records this season.
Several other Aztec marks also appear to be in jeopardy and could be broken before the end of the season. Weddle's best time in the 200 breast this fall is just .14 second shy of the school record. The team's best 400 free relay time was .05 second from the Aztec record while the 200 free relay missed a new school standard by only .14 second.
Just over a month into the 2009-10 season, San Diego State swimmers have recorded the top times in the Mountain West Conference in 11 individual events and three relays. They have also posted the second-fastest in the remaining three individual and two relay races.
The complete list of new San Diego State records set this season is as follows:
50 Free........Stephanie Koch........23.61100 Free.......Stephanie Koch........50.33200 Free.......Stephanie Koch......1:48.60500 Free.......Meghan Zimmer.......4:51.831000 Free......Petra Radovic......10:10.17100 Fly........Leona Jennings........55.12100 Back.......Leona Jennings........54.22200 Back.......Leona Jennings......1:57.57100 Breast.....Katelyn Weddle......1:01.45200 IM.........Leona Jennings......2:01.04400 IM.........Elena Karpeeva......4:22.03800 Free Relay.....Koch, Zimmer, Radovic, Jessica Crider.....7:26.35200 Medley Relay...L. Jennings, Weddle, Kim Bierwith, Koch...1:41.93
San Diego State resumes action this weekend when it hosts Cal State Bakersfield for a dual meet on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 1:00 p.m. (PT) at the Aztec Aquaplex.