Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
at WAC Championship
Bulldogs Finish Sixth at WAC Championships
2/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 29, 2004
SAN ANTONIO - SMU captured its eighth-straight Western Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championship after a strong final night. The defending champion Mustangs won five gold medals on the night to increase its lead. SMU finished the championship with 911 points.
In the 1,650-yard freestyle, freshman Sarah Daly continued the strong SMU tradition in the mile winning the gold with a time of 16:31.63. The Mustangs have won the mile six of the last seven seasons. Teammate Marizanne Grundlingh was second with a time of 16:34.71. Rice's Adi Bichman was third with a time of 16:47.72.
Hawai'i's Nicole Mackey won her third individual gold medal in the 200-yard backstroke. Mackey won the gold with a time of 1:58.39. Nevada's Sarabeth Schweitzer won the silver with a time of 1:59.95. Hawai'i's YingJuan Zhen took the bronze with a time of 2:00.94. The same three were medalists in the 100-yard backstroke on Friday with Mackey taking first followed by Zhen and Schweitzer, respectively.
In the 100-yard freestyle, SMU swept the awards with sophomore Laura Pomeroy taking the gold with a time of 50.30. Teammate Michelle Vlasacova was second with a time of 50.52. Freshman Celina Lemmen finished third with a time of 50.61.
After earning the silver last season, SMU's Sara Nordenstam took the gold in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:19.61. Rice's Lauren Hill touched the pad second with a time of 2:17.07, while Nevada's Leticia Cunha was third with a time of 2:17.09.
WAC Swimmer of the Year Georgina Lee won the 200-yard butterfly for the fourth-straight year with an automatic qualifying time of 1:55.23. Hawai'i's Mia Broden was second with a time of 1:59.51, improving upon her season-best time. Rainbow Wahine junior Yan Chen finished third with a time of 1:59.56. This was the first time Chen was under two minutes this year.
Nevada had its strongest event of the championship, sweeping the platform diving. It was one of only three events of the championship in which SMU did not medal. Wolf Pack freshman Krisitn Littell earned her first gold medal with a score of 399.95. Sophomore Jessica Gale won the silver with a score of 371.15, while senior Devon Owen won the bronze with a score of 345.35. In the final event of the championship, SMU captured its eighth-straight 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:19.22. Nevada won the silver with a time of 3:25.88, while Hawai'i won the bronze with a time of 3:26.54.
SMU finished the meet with 911 points. After finishing sixth in 2002 and fourth in 2003, Hawai'i moved up to second place this season with 711 points. The 711 points scored by the Rainbow Wahine were the most since the 2000 championship when they scored 675.5. Nevada was third with 661, followed by Rice with 551 points. San Jose State finished fifth with 329 points, while Fresno State ended the meet sixth with 244.
After the meet, postseason honors were awarded with Fresno State's Tom Milich and Hawai'i's Mike Anderson earning co-WAC Coach of the Year honors. This is the first honor for both. Nevada's Jian Li You earned her second Diving Coach of the Year honor. For the second-straight season, SMU senior Georgina Lee was named WAC Swimmer of the Year. Nicole Mackey was named Freshman of the Year while teammate Qiongie Huang earned WAC Diver of the Year honors. This is the third-straight year that a Hawai'i diver has earned the Diver of the Year honor.
Swimmer of the Year: Georgina Lee, SMU
Diver of the Year: Qiongie Huang, UH
Freshman of the Year: Nicole Mackey, UH
Co-Swimming Coach of the Year: Tom Milich, Fresno State and Mike Anderson, Hawai'i
Diving Coach of the Year: Jian Li You, Nevada
Team Scores1. SMU 9112. Hawai'i 7113. Nevada 6614. Rice 5515. San Jose State 3296. Fresno State 166
