Jan. 25, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State men's and women's swimming and diving teams, currently ranked #11 and #18, respectively, face another challenging weekend of competition beginning with a two-day dual meet against Texas at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center in Tucson Jan. 28-29. ASU will also race against host Arizona in the meet, which will be contested in the exact same format as the upcoming NCAA Championships, but will not have its results scored vs. the second-ranked Wildcat men and women. On Super Bowl Sunday, the Sun Devil women (3-3) travel to Flagstaff for a dual meet against Northern Arizona beginning at 2:00 p.m. The meet in Tucson will be staged in short-course yards, while Sunday's dual at NAU will utilize a short-course meter format.
Longhorn Lore
Perennial power Texas comes to Arizona sporting the top-ranked men's program and #12 women's squad in the current CSCAA poll. The Longhorn men (5-0) return 12 All-Americans from last season's team which placed third at the NCAA's, including all four members of its championship-winning 800 freestyle relay team. On the women's side, UT is 1-5 and coming off a win over then-#7 Florida on Jan. 14.
Lumberjack Lingo
Sophomore freestyle and individual medley artist Nicole Craft leads the Northern Arizona women, who stand at 1-5 on the season following a 158-107 loss at UA on Jan. 15. ASU and NAU last met on Jan. 30, 1999 in Tempe, with the Sun Devils recording a 188.5-99.5 victory.
Devils Swim Fast but Lose Meets in Bay Area
Despite recording a number of season and individual best performances, the ASU swimming and diving teams could not pull off upsets against national powers Stanford and Cal last weekend in Pac-10 dual meet action The Sun Devil men (2-5) came within 10 points of upending #5 Stanford thanks in large part to victories in both relays and by sweeping the top two spots in each diving event. The following day at #4 Cal Arizona State fell 187-123 but managed a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 free as freshman Anders Lyrbring led the way with a time of 1:37.71. On the women's side ASU sophomore Sarah Baham had a weekend to remember, breaking Betsi Hugh's school record in the 200 butterfly at #3 Stanford and then shattering her own mark by over a second the following day against the Bears (1:58.70). In addition to her NCAA-qualifying 200 fly time, Baham notched a consideration mark of 1:50.48 in 200 free competition. Senior Carolyn Adel set ASU's season-best time in the 200 free with her 1:50.38 performance at #5 Cal, while fellow senior Casey Murphy did the same in 1000 free competition (10:10.23).
Welcome Aboard
Freshman Atilla Czene (pronounced "Zeen") made his debut in Maroon and Gold last weekend, posting NCAA consideration times in both the 200 individual medley (1:48.10) and 200 butterfly (1:48.39). A native of Hungary, Czene is perhaps the most decorated athlete in the history of Arizona State men's swimming. In Atlanta in 1996, Czene set a new Olympic record in the 200 IM with his gold medal-winning time of 1:59.91. He also has two U.S. National Championships on his resume, winning the 200 fly (1:59.47) in Feb. 1996 and 200 IM (2:00.17) in Apr. 1994. Czene, who plans on studying business at ASU, will also contribute in the backstroke and medley relay events.