Jan. 26, 2002
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STANFORD, Calif. - Arizona State's fifth-ranked men's swimming and diving team lost for the second time in as many days, falling 136-99 to No. 1 Stanford at the Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, Calif. The loss dropped the Sun Devils to 5-2 (2-2 vs. Pac-10 opponents) on the season, while the Cardinal improved to 6-0.
The Sun Devils failed to finish first in any swimming event, although they did garner first-place points in the 200y breaststroke and 400-yard freestyle relay after Stanford assigned its entrants exhibition status. Thus, with a fifth-place overall finish, senior Christian Rasmussen won the 200y breast in 2:09.94, while ASU's 400y relay team of Nick Brunelli, Gavin Meadows, Simon MacDonald and Bo West took first in 2:59.91, despite finishing behind Stanford's A-squad that touched in 2:56.99.
ASU had better success in the diving pool, where sophomore Gordon Blukis and freshman Thomas McCrummen finished one-two in both springboard events. In the 1-meter, Blukis' six-dive score of 302.70 just edged McCrummen at 300.67. The margin of defeat was slightly larger in the 3-meter where Blukis won with a 320.85, and McCrummen's 308.48 held on to top Stanford's Adam Peterson, who placed third with a score of 306.15.
So dominant was Stanford that the Sun Devils placed second in only two events, the 100y free and 500y free. In the sprint, Brunelli clocked in at 45.24, just ahead of MacDonald at 45.71, but watched the Cardinal's Andrew Schnell take first in 44.86. In the 500y free, Gavin Meadows swam 4:31.87 for his second-place finish, well off the 4:23.20 pace of Stanford's Matt Sorlien.
Although closer to home, the Sun Devil swimming and diving teams hit the road again next weekend when they meet the University of Texas at the University of Arizona's Hillenbrand Aquatic Center in Tucson, Ariz., February 1-2. Friday's meet is scheduled to begin 2:00 p.m. MST, with Saturday's meet starting at 9:00 a.m. MST. The Sun Devil women will follow the away meets by hosting Northern Arizona University at noon at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center, Sunday, February 3.