Dec. 30, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
This Week
The Arizona State Swimming and Diving team will be in action again after almost a month off, when they hit the pool during the first week of 2003. The #12-ranked men's swimming team will host #21-ranked Harvard on January 2, at 9 a.m. On January 4th, also at 9 a.m., the full men's and women's squads will swim in double duals against Missouri (#21 women) and Wyoming. The Harvard meet marks the first time that ASU Head Coach Michael Chasson has faced the Crimson as the Sun Devils' coach. Chasson led Harvard in the seven years prior to coming to Tempe.
The Polls
The CSCAA released its fourth poll of the season on December 10. The ASU men fell one spot to 12th while the women moved up to 18th. For the complete poll, visit www.cscaa.org.
Teams Visiting ASU For First Time
Records indicate that this is the first time that either the men's or women's squads will face any of the three schools in dual competition. The men did see Harvard earlier this month at the Texas Invitational where the Crimson finished seventh.
Sun Devils Nationally
Several swimmers have recorded times that are among the nation's best. For the men, Nick Brunelli is eighth in the 50 free (20.11), fourth in the 100 free (43.87) and his relay split of 1:36.55 in the 200 free would be good enough for second in the country. Bobby Zaabadich is fifth nationally in the 50 free (20.01), while Christian Harcsas is sixth in the 100 back (48.42) and third in the 200 back (1:43.82). The 200 free relay (1:20.03) is presently the second-fastest in the NCAA. For the women, ?gnes Kov?cs leads the way as she is second nationally in the 100 breast (59.92), first in the NCAA in the 200 breast (2:09.90), and third in the 200 IM (1:58.13). The 400 free relay (3:20.14) is fourth-fastest in the nation.
Diving Continues Strong Performances
Freshman men's diver Joona Puhakka continues his outstanding performances and has maintained his run of not losing an event as a Sun Devil. At the Texas Invitational he finished first in both the 1m and 3m diving events, beating his nearest opponents by 45 points and 80 points, respectively. Sophomore women's diver Trisha Tumlinson set two school records at the Texas Invitational. In the 1m event, she earned a 291.95, besting the previous record of 287.10 set by junior diver Jessica Stenson last season. In her specialty, Tumlinson set the school record on the platform (453.15) in what was her first attempt at this event for ASU.
ASU, Last Time In The Pool
Both the women's and men's squads are coming off of fifth-place finishes at the Texas Invitational the weekend of December 5-7. The women set five school records over the course of the meet: 1m diving (Trisha Tumlinson-291.95); platform diving (Tumlinson-453.15); 50 free (Claire Hedenskog-23.10); 200 IM (?gnes Kov?cs-1:58.13); and the 400 free relay (3:20.14). Kov?cs earned the only first-place finish for the women over the weekend with her 59.92 effort in the 100 breast. She is only the second Sun Devil woman to ever swim under a minute in this event and is the only one to ever break the two-minute barrier in the 200 IM. On the men's side, freshman diver Joona Puhakka earned first in both the 1m (362.05) and the 3m, 11-dive events (628.55). Bobby Zaabadich finished second in the 50 free (20.01) and Nick Brunelli finished second in the 100 free (43.92). Christian Harcsas recorded the only NCAA automatic "A" time for the men, with a 1:43.82 in the 200 back.
Up Next For The Sun Devils
The diving teams will travel to the U.S. Open Diving Championships January 7-12 in Bloomington, Indiana. The swimmers will compete in the Dallas Morning News Invitational January 17 & 18 in Dallas, Texas.