Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
WAC Championships
Gjoen and Luke Lead Dogs Charge on Day Three
2/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 26, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - Five Bulldog swimmers qualified for finals on day three of the Western Athletic Conference swimming and diving Championships in San Antonio, Texas. The strong performances in multiple events pulled the `Dogs within five points of eighth place.
Sophomore Heidi Gjoen accrued the most single event points for the `Dogs with a season best time of 57.25 in the finals heat of the 100 backstroke. The effort improved her preliminary standing and moved her up for a fifth place finish.
"Heidi had a strong swim for us and got us a lot of points today," said head coach Jeanne Fleck. "We look for her to do the same for us tomorrow in the 200 back."
The 100 butterfly event was also a key component to Fresno State's day three success. Freshman Rayanne Nguyen shattered her previous career best by half of a second with a time of 56.98 to finish in ninth place and record the forth fastest time in program history.
The Bulldogs were very competitive in the 100 breaststroke event where senior Mary Tess Taylor was Fresno State's top finisher coming home in 13th with a career best time of 1:06.39. Freshman Britney Vogel charged back from illness yesterday to score coveted points as she came in 14th place with a finals time of 1:06.78.
"Mary Tess and Britney stepped up and swam right around their season bests today," said Fleck. "Britney showed a lot of heart and did a great job considering she wasn't feeling well."
Sophomore Jordan Morillo posted a career performance for the Bulldogs recording a time of 4:38.83, which is over five seconds faster than her previous best time good enough for a 21st place finish on the day.
"Jordan did a great job for us in the 400 IM tonight," said Fleck. "She was in a very competitive event and she rose to the occasion and gave us her best time of the year."
Tomorrow will be the fourth and final day of the WAC Championships at the Josh Davis Natatorium as the `Dogs look to fight for the best possible finishing position.
"Tomorrow is without a doubt our strongest day event wise," said Fleck. "We have a lot of swimmers who have their best events yet to come and we are going to give it our all and see where we end up."
On the diving side, freshman Stacey Luke recorded a 1-meter score of 247.85 in the final round of competition giving her eighth place and tallying up more team points for Fresno State.
"I am very proud of Stacey," said diving coach Taryn Patrick. "She has done a great job for us here all week and we look for her to continue that success tomorrow on the 3-meter."
The events that will decide the championship will be the 3-meter dive, 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and the 400 freestyle relay. The Bulldogs have the potential to score a good chunk of points on the final day of the conference meet as their season best times in each event rank among the top times in the WAC.
"We are a very young team and we are learning a lot," said Fleck. "We are doing a lot of things right and we are going to look to build on all of the things we have accomplished this week. We are only going to get better."
"We Are Your Team" - Next up, the Bulldogs swimming and diving team will be in San Antonio, Texas battling their conference rival in the WAC Championships Feb. 24-27. Check out gobulldogs.com for all your swimming and diving information along with exclusive team blogs.
Players Mentioned
