Feb. 3, 2002
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TEMPE, Ariz. - With its top swimmers competing away from their strengths, Arizona State's 10th-ranked women's swimming and diving team still had enough to defeat Northern Arizona 150-91 at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center, Sunday. ASU's women are now 6-3 on the season with one dual meet remaining, while NAU finishes the dual season at 2-7. The Sun Devil men did not compete.
The Sun Devils earned first-place points in 11 of 13 events, led by freshman sprinter Sarah Fischer and senior diver Natalie Burgess, both of whom picked up a pair of wins. Fischer's first collegiate win came in the 50-yard freestyle, where she swam her best time of the season at 24.63 to edge NAU's Leia Fazio at 24.78. Then in the 100y butterfly, Fischer again produced a collegiate best, going 58.16 for first while teammate Katie Titcomb came in second at 1:00.50.
Coming off a strong outing vs. Texas, Burgess swept the springboard events with a 1-meter optionals score of 263.25 and a 3-meter total of 301.27. Sun Devil Jessica Stenson placed third in both events with sums of 243.37 and 256.65, respectively.
With teammate ?gnes Kov?cs making her appearance in the 1000y free, which she won in 10:06.76, senior Riley Mants cashed in on a rare opportunity to compete as ASU's top breaststroker, earning her first win of the season in the 100y breast with a time of 1:04.30. It was a well-deserved curtain call for Mants, who ranks third in school history in the 100y and 200y breast, but has been forced to compete in the shadow of Kov?cs -- an Olympic and World Champion -- this season.
ASU's other individual winners Sunday were Brooke Townsend, Florencia Szigeti and Sarah Baham. Townsend led Amanda Stanford (2:10.83) and Melissa Bartlett (2:11.40) to a sweep of the top-three spots in the 200y individual medley in 2:09.37. In the 200y backstroke, it was Szigeti's 1:00.21 in first with Stanford picking up another runner-up finish in 1:01.71. And in the 500y free, Baham's 5:07.38 set the pace, followed by freshman Kari Wilcox in second at 5:11.90.
ASU also won both relays, taking the 200y medley relay in 1:48.06 and the 200y free relay in 1:00.21.
NAU's victories were in the 100y and 200y free. Heather Anderson bested Townsend 53.42 to 53.98 in the 100y free and finished runner-up to fellow Lumberjack Annie Warner (1:54.99) in the 200y free in 1:55.64.
The Sun Devils have only one more regular season meet remaining. Saturday, February 16, ASU's men's and women's teams will face-off against intrastate rival Arizona at noon at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe.