March 8, 1999
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Arizona State men's swimming and diving team, led for the second consecutive day by senior all-America Francisco Sanchez, who set a Pac-10 record in the 100 freestyle, surpassed its sixth-place finish from last year by finishing fifth at the 1999 Pac-10 Men's Swimming and Diving Championships held in Long Beach, Calif. Sanchez, who was not tapered or shaved, won the 100 freestyle in a Pac-10 record time of 42.86, eclipsing the old record of 43.07 set earlier in the day by California senior Bart Kizierowski. "It was a great swim and a fantastic effort by Francisco," said ASU coach Michael Chasson. "I think that he will be that much better at NCAAs since he was not tapered or shaved."
As a team, the Devils (428 points) finished in fifth place behind Arizona (441 points), who barely outdistanced the Devils for fourth, USC (674 points), California (740.5 points) and Stanford (748.5 points). ASU finished ahead of sixth-place Washington (232 points). ASU was in fourth place going into the final day, however untimely illness and injury thwarted the Devils' attempt to hold onto fourth. "We probably could have been better, but (sophomore and all-America) Scott VonSchoff couldn't swim because of a bulging disc in his back and (freshman) Mike Malchak got the flu after the first day," said Chasson. "I think that kind of hurt us (because) those guys are probably the points that would have put us into fourth." Other Sun Devils who Chasson singled out were senior co-captain Robert Delgado and sophomore Christian Jacobson, who both finished ninth in the 200 fly (1:47.70) and 200 back (1:47.38), respectively. "Both guys turned in great efforts," said Chasson.
Other Devils who turned in top-16 finishes in the last day of competition included Mike Dowling, Matt Carter, Matt Barry and Malchak, who finished 11th (15:35.55). 12th (15:37.09), 13th (15:37.91) and 14th (15:52.16), respectively in the 1650 free, Travis Leyenhorst and Otto Hinks, who finished eighth (2:00.25) and 16th (2:07.52), respectively in the 200 breaststroke and Austin Paulsen, who finished 14th (1:51.82) in the 200 fly.
"It was a fantastic effort and a great job and hopefully we'll be on our way to a top-10 finish at NCAAs," said Chasson. The Devils don't resume competition until March 25-27, when they travel to Indianapolis, Ind., for the 1999 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.