Feb. 28, 2011
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Eleven members of the San Diego State women's swimming and diving team have been named to the 2011 all-Mountain West Conference team based on their performances at the recently completed MWC Swimming & Diving Championships held in Oklahoma City this past weekend.
To be placed on the all-conference team, an individual must place in the top eight in the finals of their event. For the relays, the all-conference team consists of the top three finishers in each race. SDSU had all two of its relay quartets earn all-MWC honors.
The complete list of Aztecs all-MWC swimmers and divers along with their event finishes is as follows:
Athlete EventsKim Bierwith.......50 Freestyle, 100 BackstrokeMelanie Garibaldi..500 Freestyle, 1650 Freestyle, 400 IMLeona Jennings.....100 Backstroke, 200 Backstroke, 200 IMStephanie Koch.....100 Freestyle, 200 FreestyleKelly Marquenie....200 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle, 1650 FreestyleKristen Meier......1-Meter Springboard, 3-meter Springboard, Platform DivingShaida Solimani....100 BackstrokeRafaella Suarez....Platform DivingBrooke Vessey......100 Backstroke, 100 Butterfly, 200 ButterflyKatelyn Weddle.....100 Breaststroke, 200 BreaststrokeMeghan Zimmer......200 Freestyle, 200 Backstroke
All-Conference Relays800 Freestyle Relay - Marquenie, Koch, Zimmer, Garibaldi400 Medley Relay - L. Jennings, Vessey, Weddle, Koch
Five of those athletes set new San Diego State records in a total of 12 individual events led by freshman Kelly Marquenie who established new school marks in the 200, 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyle. Her time in the 1650 was a meet and conference record while her mark in the 500 established a new MWC Championships record as well.
Junior Kristen Meier set SDSU records in all three diving events, bettering marks that she achieved earlier in the season. Leona Jennings also set a pair of new SDSU standards, swimming Aztec record times in both the 100 and 200 backstroke. Other school records were set by Kim Bierwith in the 50 free, Brooke Vessey in the 100 butterfly and Melanie Garibaldi in the 400 individual medley.
In addition to those 12 individual marks, the Aztecs also set new school records in four of the five relay events during the championship meet for a total of 16 new SDSU standards over the four-day meet. SDSU records were set in the 200 and 800 freestyle relays along with both the 2000 and 400 medley relays.
SDSU's captured its first-ever Mountain West Conference championship this past weekend with a team score of 646, a total which led second-place Brigham Young by 84 points. The title at the annual conference meet capped off a season that saw the Aztecs finish with a 19-0 record in dual meets and win the MWC regular-season title with a perfect 8-0 mark.
San Diego State will now await word on which of its swimmers have qualified for the NCAA Championships to be conducted March 17-19 in Austin, Texas. Divers Kristen Meier and Anna Steiner have qualified for the Zone E regional meet March 10-12 in Minneapolis where they will attempt to qualify for the national championships. C