Jan. 19, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State men's and women's swimming and diving teams face their toughest two-day stretch of the season this weekend when they travel to the Bay Area to battle Stanford and Cal. Both Pac-10 schools feature men's and women's programs which consistently finish among the NCAA's elite. The Stanford men are currently ranked second nationally, while the Cardinal women check in at #3. Each of Cal's teams sits at #5 on the College Swimming Coaches' Association poll. The Sun Devils counter with a 12th-ranked men's program and women's squad ranked #18. Both dual meets will be contested in short-course yards.
Cardinal Confidential
The Stanford men are annually amongst the nation's best, owners of eight NCAA titles and 18 consecutive Pac-10 crowns. The Cardinal (1-2), who feature five returning All-Americans including senior Glen Counts, were upset on Jan. 15 at #9 Michigan. The Sun Devil men will square off with Stanford beginning at 12:00 p.m. PST Friday. On Jan. 23, 1999, the Cardinal handed ASU a 138.5-98.5 loss in Tempe. The Stanford women (1-0) are coming off a secondplace showing at the NCAA's in 1999 and feature 100 fly national champion Misty Hyman, a Phoenix native. The Sun Devil-Cardinal dual meet will begin at 2:00 p.m. PST. Arizona State will look to avenge a 174-122 loss last year at the Mona Plummer Center.
Cal Conversation
Reigning NCAA 100 free champion Bart Kizierowski leads the Berkeley men, who have a 3-1 dual meet record and are coming off a win at UNLV on Jan. 8. The Bears, who finished fourth in the nation last year, notched a 138-103 win over the Devils on Jan. 22 in Tempe. On the women's side Cal (5-0) is equally as strong, returning eight All-Americans from 1999's fifth place NCAA squad. That team defeated ASU 166-75. On Saturday, both the men and women will begin racing at 1:00 PST.
Dual Meets, Invitationals Keep Devils Busy in January
The Arizona State men should be ready for action against Stanford and Cal after competing in two dual meets and two invitationals over the past two weeks. On Jan. 7, ASU dropped a 134-109 decision to #9 Michigan at the Mona Plummer Center despite wins from sophomore Simon MacDonald in both sprint freestyle races and a sweep of the diving events. The following day, the Devils fell to #11 Tennessee 132-108 with a number of races coming down to the wire. Junior Adam Guzauskas was impressive in both dual meets, posting back-to-back NCAA consideration times in the 200 breast. Last weekend an ASU contingent of mostly freshmen and sophomores traveled to the Dallas Mornning News Invitational hosted by SMU and placed 6th. Many of those same swimmers were joined by the Arizona State women for the Sun Devil Invitational Jan. 8 in Tempe against Virgnia Tech and Wyoming. Freshman Claire Hedenskog, a midseason addition to the Arizona State roster, won the women's 50 (24.19) and 100 (53.12) freestyle events in her Maroon and Gold debut.
Schedule Addition
The Sun Devil men will participate in the Dallas Morning News Invitational, hosted by Southern Methodist, Jan. 14-15. ASU will send eight of its top swimmers and one diver to the meet, which will feature #14 Texas A&M, #19 LSU and the host Mustangs in addition to two other schools. Arizona State and and SMU met in November at the Northwestern Invitational, where the Devils placed first and the 15th-ranked Mustangs took second.
Welcome Aboard
Freshman Claire Hedenskog, a native of Lyndome, Sweeden, has joined the ASU women's swimming team and will make her debut during Saturday's invitational. Hedenskog, a sprint freestyler, has participated in the past four Swedish Senior Nationals, winning the 400 free relay as a member of the Gothenberg Swim Club in 1998.
Note the Format
Both of this weekend's dual meets will be contested in short-course yards. Meets throughout the 1999-2000 season will use either the aforementioned format, short-course meters or long-course meters. The NCAA Championships this season are being held in a 25-meter pool, while the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia will utilize a 50-meter format.
Head Coach Michael Chasson
Currently in his second season at ASU, Michael Chasson is the first head coach in school history to oversee both the men's and women's swim programs. In 1999, he guided Sun Devil men to a 16th place national showing, while the women finished 23rd at the NCAA Championships. Chasson came to Tempe with impressive credentials, having guided the Harvard men's program to six Eastern Seaboard Championships.