Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Jose State
`Dogs Show Improvement Against Spartans
2/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 6, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - The Bulldogs swimming and diving team showed major signs of improvement on senior day giving conference rival and the WAC's top team, San Jose State all they could handle before falling 172-122 and to 3-10 for the year on a rainy day at Clovis North Aquatic Center.
"I think we had a great performance as a team today, said head coach Jeanne Fleck. "We got to swim a lot of events and gain some more experience which will be beneficial at the WAC Championships at the end of this month. We swam a lot of events at a very fast pace today and we looked really sharp overall."
The `Dogs were very competitive in the regular season finale, winning seven of the 16 events on the day, including a season-best performance in the 200 freestyle by Sophomore Heidi Gjoen where she brought home a first place finish with a time of 1:54.80. Gjoen also boasted a victory in the 200 backstroke event where she swam a time of 2:05.90, nearly five seconds faster than the second place finisher.
"Heidi had another great performance for us today," said head coach Jeanne Fleck. "She was great in the backstroke and came up big for us in the 200 free as well."
Freshman Dani Yoho continued her winning ways for the Bulldogs, taking first in the 50 freestyle event with a time of 24.15 and reinforcing the fact that she is going to be the swimmer to beat at the conference meets when it comes to the 50 free.
"Dani did a nice job for us today" said Fleck. "She continues to do well in the 50 free and we look for her to score points for us at the conference meets."
Fresno State was very solid in the 1000 freestyle event where both freshman Rayanne Nguyen and senior Rebecca Strmiska both swam season-best times. Nguyen finished second for the `Dogs with a time of 10:53.59 which is the fastest time by a Bulldog in the 1000 free this season. Strmiska finished fourth for the `Dogs with a time of 11:25.38 as she continuously improves her times in the distance events week in and week out.
"Rayanne is not normally a 1000 freestyle swimmer and she was pretty studly to jump in and come up big in an event she is not used to competing in," said Fleck. "I was really proud of Rebecca as well, I think she was pumped up for senior night and she really came out and posted a good time and she will be ready for the conference meets."
Britney Vogel, made her presence felt in the 100 breaststroke, where the freshman has dominated recently, this time with a time of 1:05.89 good enough for first place and the maximum amount of points for the event.
On the diving side the Bulldogs had their most solid performances of the season as Stacey Luke, Blair Hopkins and Jillian Mason all posted career-best scores in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.
Luke's score of 265.87 in the 1-meter shatters her previous career best by 15 points and is good enough to qualify her for the NCAA Zones at the end of the season making her the first Bulldog diver to accomplish the task since the return of the program in 2008.
"This is a great accomplishment for Stacey," said head diving coach Taryn Patrick. "The NCAA Zones will be a great experience for her and as a freshman she will get the chance to see what it's all about."
Luke also shattered her career-best off the 3-meter board by nearly 17 points with a score of 279.07 good enough for first place domination of both diving events on the day.
On the day that she was honored as a senior, Hopkins recorded career-best scores on both boards as well with a score of 237.37 on the 1-meter which tops her previous best by 65 points and 232.20 on the 3-meter as she competed in her final regular season meet as a Bulldog.
"I'm so proud of all of these divers and overall I think today was one of the best meets we had all year." Said Patrick "Everyone was on top of their game today and it showed."
The Bulldogs looked sharp and have gradually improved over the course of the season as they kept the score close and battled hard against the same Spartan team that handed them a 183-59 loss earlier this season.
"We get better every week and we are extremely excited to get to the conference meets this year, said Fleck. "Were going to work hard the next couple of weeks and be ready to give them everything we've got."
"We Are Your Team" - Next up, the Bulldogs swimming and diving team will head to San Antonio, Texas to compete in the WAC Championships on Feb. 24-27 at the Josh Davis Natatorium. Check out gobulldogs.com for all your swimming and diving information along with exclusive team blogs
