Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Cal State Bakersfield
Bulldogs Earn Top Three Finishes
1/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Jan. 17, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - A wave of fans decked in Bulldog red and blue fled to the south Valley Saturday afternoon to cheer on Bulldog aquatics, as swimmers and divers had a solid start against the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield, kicking off the meet with a second place finish in the 200 medley relay and gaining a thrust of force entering the meet.
Junior Rebecca Strmiska (Fresno, Calif.) showcased domination in the 1000 freestyle event, a 40-lap race, finishing second and with a best time of 12:05.07. Sophomore Rebecca Atchley (Porterville, Calif.) improved her time 30 seconds, the most significant progress in this event today. Also swimming the distance event for the first time today was freshman Sara Blake (Reedley, Calif.), who gave a strong showing.
The `Dogs gave two top three finishes in the 200 freestyle, with freshman Dede Torres (Fresno, Calif.) in second and senior Rebecca Sussman (Walnut Creek, Calif.) following behind in third. All three Fresno State competitors, including junior Megan Wood (Fresno, Calif.), earned best times in the event as well. An established competitor in backstroke, freshman Heidi Gjoen (Oslo, Norway) captured a first place finish in the 100 backstroke, finishing with a time of 59.00.
Junior Mary Tess Taylor (Granite Bay, Calif.) continued to improve her time in the 100 breaststroke event, finishing in the top three with a time of 1:10.37. In the same event, junior Kasey Madden took seconds off her time finishing 1:18.77.
After a short break, the `Dogs dug into the 100 freestyle event, with all three Fresno State Bulldogs earning best times. Junior Becky Geisinger (El Sobrante, Calif.), sophomore Stephanie Hatayama (Fresno, Calif.) and freshman Dede Torres (Fresno, Calif.) each earned high times. Hatayama's time earned the `Dogs another top three finish as she finished second in the event.
"We swam really well today and had a ton of bests," said head coach Jeanne Fleck. "We're making progress and today went well."
Continuing her prevalence in backstroke, Gjoen nailed another first place finish in the 200 backstroke event, her second first place finish of the afternoon and adding to the list of top finishes for the `Dogs against Bakersfield.
The entire red wave earned best times in the 500 freestyle, a 20-lap distance event, with Taylor earning a third place finish and Atchley and Strmiska topping their previous finishes for the event.
Bulldog finish times in the 500 freestyle:
Taylor: 5:35.02- 3rd place
Strmiska: 5:53.09
Atchley: 6:08.23
In the diving well, junior Blair Hopkins continued strength earning a high mark on the 1-meter along with a third place finish on both boards (1-meter and 3-meter). Teammates Kendra Weeks, Jaime Krause and Jillian Mason followed consecutively behind.
"I saw a lot of really good things today," said head diving coach Taryn Ignacio. "The girls are getting more consistent."
The Bulldogs concluded the meet as they started it, earning a second place finish in the 400 freestyle relay and a best time of 3:44.05 going out with a bang. Gjoen was explosive in her lead off, finishing 54.83 concluding the meet strong and positive.
"Join the State- Fresno State!"- The Bulldog swimming and diving team travels to the campus of University of San Diego Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009 at 1 p.m. in a southern California faceoff between the Toreros, Bulldogs and the Loyola Marymount Lions.
Players Mentioned
