Nov. 29, 2012
THIS WEEK
The San Diego State swimming and diving team will return to dual meet action this weekend as its hosts Mountain West foe Fresno State on Saturday, Dec. 1, at noon at the Aztec Aquaplex. It will be the Aztecs' first dual competition since it competed in the triple dual meet at New Mexico on Nov. 2-3. San Diego State is ranked ninth in the nation in this week's Endless Pools/CollegeSwimming.com poll.
HEAD COACHMIKE SHRADER
San Diego State head coach Mike Shrader is in his sixth season with the Aztecs and has compiled a dual meet record of 70-13 (.843) during his tenure. Shrader was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year past on three occasions (2011, 2010, co-coach in 2009). Including eight seasons as the head coach at Nevada, his career record stands at 159-25-1 (.862).
AZTECS PLACE THIRD AT ARENA INVITATIONAL
San Diego State placed third at the annual Arena Invitational in Long Beach, Calif., which was contested over the three-day period of Nov. 15-17. The Aztecs finished behind only two-time defending national champion California and third-ranked Arizona State in the meet which featured 13 collegiate squads and four post-graduate college teams. It was SDSU's top team finish at the meet in the four years in which it has participated.
Aztec senior Katelyn Weddle was the lone SDSU athlete to win an event as she finished first in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke with times of 1:01.20 and 2:13.71 respectively. She was also on the 200 and 400 medley relay teams that turned in the second-fastest (1:40.00) and third-fastest (3:40.60) times in school history.
SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Katelyn Weddle was named the Mountain West Swimmer of the Week for her performance during the Arena Invitational. Her times in both of those events were the best in the conference his season and were NCAA "B" Cut marks.
SCHOOL RECORDS SET
A pair of San Diego State senior swimmers set school records during the Arena Invitational as they bettered the records that they set during the 2011-12 season. Melanie Garibaldi swam a 4:15.24 in the 400 IM to record the best time in school history. Gemma Johnson added a new Aztec all-time best in the 100 butterfly with a mark of 53.36. Garibaldi improved her school record time by 1.51 second while Johnson bettered her previous school record mark by .15 second.
DIVERS AT WILDCAT DIVING INVITATIONAL
While the Aztec swimmers competed at the Arena Invitational, the San Diego State divers were in Arizona to compete in the Wildcat Diving Invitational (Nov. 16-18).
Junior Anna Steiner turned in a pair of top four placings during with her best finish coming in the platform diving competition where she captured third place with a score of 229.60. In a field of 23 divers, SDSU freshman Kelsey Bean (163.50) and Chandler Marshall (143.05) placed 17th and 21st respectively in the first attempt of their collegiate careers in the event. In the three meter board, Steiner took fourth place where her score of 299.30 was less than two points from third place. The Aztecs had three other divers among the 42 competing on the three-meter board as well. That trio included freshmen Ashley Stott (31st - 210.20), Bean (34th - 203.00) and Marshall (42nd - 179.15).
Marshall was the Aztecs' top finisher on the one-meter springboard as she finished 18th in a field that included some 43 divers. Other SDSU placings included Stott in 24th (218.70), Steiner in 32nd (196.95) and Bean in 33rd (195.15).
TOP CONFERENCE TIMES
Of the 14 individual swimming events contested in the Mountain West, San Diego State swimmers currently have the top conference times in 10 of those races. That group includes the following:
Event Swimmer Time100 Freestyle...........Meghan Zimmer.........50.09200 Freestyle...........Jessica Crider......1:48.02500 Freestyle...........Melanie Garibaldi...4:45.811000 Freestyle..........Melanie Garibaldi...9:59.361650 Freestyle..........Melanie Garibaldi..16:34.77100 Breaststroke........Katelyn Weddle......1:01.20200 Breaststroke........Katelyn Weddle......2:13.71100 Butterfly...........Gemma Johnson.........53.56200 Individual Medley...Leona Jennings......2:00.47400 Individual Medley...Melanie Garibaldi...4:15.24