Oct. 22, 2005
HONOLULU, Hawai'i (www.thesundevils.com) -- The Arizona State Swimming & Diving teams opened the 2005-06 season with a split against the University of Hawai'i Friday evening at the Duke Kahanomoku Aquatic Complex. The ASU men defeated the Rainbow Warriors 136-105, while the women fell to the Rainbow Wahine 106-136.
On the men's side, sophomore distance specialist Lucas Azevedo (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and senior diver Joona Puhakka (Helsinki, Finland) each won a pair of events to score 18 points. Azevedo out-touched Andrew Affleck by seven-tenths of a second to win the 1000 freestyle with a 9:11.02 which is the seventh-fastest time in school history. He also clocked a 4:28.98 in the 500 freestyle to complete the distance sweep.
Puhakka, a four-time NCAA diving champion, continued his dual meet dominance winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events.
Other winners on the men's side included senior David Kolozar (1st in 200 fly, 2nd in 500 free), junior Richie Crowder (1st in 50 free, 2nd in 100 free), sophomore CJ Nuess (1st in 400 IM, 2nd in 200 back) and the 400 free relay team of Sean Boyle, Richie Crowder, Mohammed Madwa and Cheyne O'Gorman (3:08.30).
On the women's side, sophomore Ellis Schieman (Shaker Heights, Ohio) scored 13 individual points, while sophomore Sarah Fischer (Boulder, Colo.) and junior Christine Creek (Simi Valley, Calif.) each had nine points.
Schieman won the 200 butterfly with a 2:02.24 and was second in the 1000 free with a 10:07.49. Fischer netted a trio of third-place finishes in the 1000 freestyle (10:08.84), 400 IM (4:33.56) and the 500 freestyle (5:02.67). Creek won the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:18.78.
Other notable performances on the women's side included sophomore All-American Caitlin Andrew (2nd in the 200 back), freshman Jen Beckberger (2nd in the 100 free), senior Sally Brown (2nd in the 400 IM), senior Laura Ullrich (2nd in the 50 free) and senior Heidi Schmidt (2nd in the 50 free).
The Sun Devils have a busy week ahead, hosting UC Santa Barbara (men & women) Friday and Saturday, and Penn State (women only) on Saturday. ASU will then travel to Las Vegas for a dual meet with UNLV on Sunday.
--Sun Devil Swimming and Diving--