Jan. 4, 2002
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This Week
With the winter break now behind them, Arizona State's swimming and diving teams enter 2002 and the latter half of the season by hosting three meets at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe, Ariz., this weekend. Friday, January 4, the No. 5 men and No. 8 women will contest the Pacific Dolphins swim club of British Columbia at noon. Saturday, January 5, the ASU women (and a partial men's squad) will take on teams from North Carolina State, Missouri and Lake Forest College at the Sun Devil Invitational at 9:00 a.m. The ASU men will not compete until noon, when their unbeaten streak will be challenged by No. 12 Michigan in dual action.
The Polls
The College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) releases national rankings on a bi-weekly basis. After both Sun Devil teams debuted at No. 13 in the polls (Nov. 1), in the most recent Dec. 13 rankings, the ASU men are up to No. 5 in the nation, with the women tied with Florida at No. 8. A complete list of those current rankings appears on Page 2 of this release. The next poll will be released January 17. For more information, access www.cscaa.org.
ASU vs. British Columbia Pacific Dolphins
Last year, Arizona State, Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria took part in British Columbia's Colleges' Cup, competing in meters at the UBC Aquatic Center in Vancouver, B.C. The Sun Devil men won the two-day tournament with 525 points, topping the B.C. Pacific Dolphins (486), Victoria (429) and Simon Fraser (393), respectively. The ASU women placed second with 496 points behind the Pacific Dolphins (525), but ahead of Simon Fraser (417) and Victoria (415).
The Sun Devil Invitational
Arizona State's women will contest teams from the University of Missouri (w4-0, m2-1), North Carolina State (w2-1, m3-1) and Lake Forest College (w1-2, m3-0). Men's teams from the same programs will also be in action, although the majority of ASU's men's team will be in waiting for No. 12 Michigan.
ASU vs. Michigan (men only)
No. 12 Michigan will first stop at No. 8 Arizona before traveling north to Tempe. Going into the weekend the Wolverines are 4-0 on the season. Although complete records are not available, the Sun Devils and Wolverines have met twice in dual action over the last ten years, with Michigan prevailing both times. The first matchup was a 77-33 decision in January of 1996. Most recently, Michigan defeated ASU 134-109 in Tempe in January of 2000.
ASU, Last Time In The Pool
Getting dusted off from their winter break, ASU's swim teams extended their unbeaten seasons vs. Washington, with the men triumphing 208-80 and the women prevailing 177-119, last Saturday (Dec. 29). Nick Brunelli (50 free, 100 free), Christian Harcsas (100 back, 200 back), Rich Jacobs (200 fly, 400 IM) and Gavin Meadows (500 free, 1000 free) were all two-event winners for the men. Sarah Baham (100 fly, 200 fly), ?gnes Kov?cs (100 breast, 200 breast) and Amanda Stanford (500 free, 1000 free) did the same for the women.
Up Next For The Sun Devils
After loading up on competition this week, ASU will have to wait three weeks for it's next competitive taste. January 25-26, the Sun Devils make a difficult swing through the Bay Area, challenging the current seventh-ranked men and sixth-ranked women of California Friday (Jan. 25), before taking on the No. 1 men and No. 1 women of Stanford Saturday (Jan. 26).