Fresno State Athletics
WAC Preview
2/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 24, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State's swimmers and divers will take the boards and starting blocks with pride Wednesday evening at 4:30 p.m. PT for the beginning of the highly anticipated WAC Championships at the Palo Alto Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas.
A resurrected sport and team comprised of newcomers, the Bulldogs will get a taste of the nine-team championship experience and event format in the four-day event that is annually held in the southwest, in hopes of earning a horde of best times and improvements.
The `Dogs caught a glimpse of the specific meet format they would experience in San Antonio earlier in the season at the Beach Cup Invitational, hosted by WAC rival University of San Diego. Identifying and familiarizing themselves with the multi-event schedule outlined with a preliminary round and finals aided the Bulldogs, along with intense, focus-concentrated training, in preparation for the conference meet.
"I am really excited about this conference championships as I feel that every one of the swimmers is going to improve and do best times," said head coach Jeanne Fleck.
Fresno State possesses a 0-8 record for the regular season, while the competitors of San Jose State are 16-1 after a loss to Stanford. New Mexico State lurks as a threat with its 10-7 record, while Hawai'i is 6-6. Many of the conference competition are familiar to the `Dogs, who have met with WAC teams such as University of San Diego, Boise State and powerhouse San Jose State three times prior to this week's events. Participating teams include New Mexico State, Idaho, University of Hawaii, Northern Arizona, Nevada, University of San Diego, San Jose State, Boise State and Fresno State.
"We have nothing to lose and everything to gain," said Fleck. "The women are very excited."
Divers acquired momentum entering the championships in their season closer, capturing first place finishes on both boards (1-meter and 3-meter) and topped Fresno Pacific to earn a dual dive meet victory at home. The meet and win allowed divers to further practice and prepare.
"I'm really looking forward to this week," said head diving coach Taryn Ignacio. "The girls have put 110 percent in everyday and I am so proud of them. This meet will show how hard they have worked and how much they've improved. As long as the girls stay relaxed and focused, I think we'll see lifetime bests!"
The championships will launch with the 200-yard medley relay finals, with a 40-minute break for time trials, and will conclude with the 800-yard freestyle relay finals. Each day to follow will consist of a group of preliminary events followed by the finals for each event and diving competition during swimming breaks.
The Western Athletic Conference, in conjunction with its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, has announced it will stream the finals of all four night of the 2009 WAC Swimming & Diving Championships, Feb. 25-28. To sign up and subscribe, do so by visiting www.WAC.tv. or via the clickable link on the swimming and diving page at www.gobulldogs.com.
For complete results following each day's events, please log onto www.gobulldogs.com.
"Join the State - Fresno State" -The Fresno State swimming and diving team heads to the south for the WAC Championships Feb. 25-28 at the Palo Alto Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas. Fans can sign up for live streaming of the finals at www.wac.tv.org.
