Oct. 25, 2000
This Week --
Arizona State's 2000-2001 swimming and diving season officially begins Friday, Oct. 27, at 3:00 p.m. when the Sun Devil men and women host UNLV at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center, on the ASU campus in Tempe.
ASU Men's Top Returnees --
Perhaps none of ASU's returning letterwinnners is as impressive as senior diver Marc Briggs (Madera, Calif.). In his first season with the Sun Devils, after transferring from Midland Junior College (Texas), Briggs became ASU's first Pac-10 diving champion since 1983. In addition to earning All-American honors in the one-meter and platform dives, he set school records in the one and three-meter, 11-dive formats (570.50 and 632.25, respectively) and the platform (483.40). Another to watch is All-American senior Otto Hinks (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada). Hinks placed eighth in the 100 breastroke at the NCAA Championships and holds the school record at 54.46.
ASU Women's Top Returnees --
Sarah Baham (Arcadia, Calif.) returns after a breakout sophomore campaign in which she was named the team's most outstanding swimmer. The Sun Devils' version of Madame Butterfly, Baham set school records in both the 100 (53.68) and 200 (1:58.22) butterfly, earning All-America honors in the 100. Fellow All-Americans Riley Mants (Winnipeg, Canada) and Lauren Morelli (Hockessin, Del.) also headline this year's squad. Mants, a junior, will try to recapture the form that placed her fourth in the 200 breaststroke at the 1999 NCAA Championships. Meanwhile, senior Morelli aims to lower her ASU record in the 100 backstroke (55.59) and move up from second to first on the all-time 200 back list.
UNLV --
In his 21st year, head coach Jim Reitz leads the Rebels into Tempe after another solid season in Las Vegas. The men went 6-4 in dual meet action during the 1999-2000 season, while the women went 9-3. Both teams finished second in their debut seasons as members of the Mountain West Conference.
Last Meeting, ASU vs. UNLV (10/30/99) --
Both the ASU men and women came away victorious in their last meetings with UNLV. The Sun Devil men cruised to a 214-80 win on the shoulders of eight individual victories, including wins by current seniors Otto Hinks and Bo West (Esbjerg, Denmark). The women handled the Rebels to the tune of a 196-98 victory. Current junior Sarah Baham led the way with victories in both the 100 and 200 butterfly. The most notable Rebel last year was sophomore Lorena Diaconescu who picked up wins in the women's 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events.
Sun Devil Olympians --
The 2000 Olympics featured seven Sun Devil swimmers, including three members of the 1999-2000 team: Pablo Abal (Argentina), Attila Czene (Hungary) and Carolyn Adel (Suriname). Czene, who set the world record in the 200 individual medley at the NCAA Championships last year (1:42.72), finished runner-up to a medal in Sydney after capturing bronze in 1992 and gold in 1996.