March 20, 2003
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AUBURN, Ala. -- The No. 15 Arizona State women's swimming & diving squad scored 36 points and is in 11th place after the first day of the NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center. Claire Hedenskog shattered her previous ASU record in the 50 freestyle and the 200 freestyle relay also set a new school mark during the initial two sessions.
In the competition's opening event, the Sun Devils placed 11th in the 200 freestyle relay finals with a school record setting time of 1:32.15. Florencia Szigeti, Hedenskog, Florence Mauro, and Petra Banovic were the quartet behind the effort and each received honorable mention All-American honors.
In the preliminary session earlier in the day, Szigeti swam the opening 50-yard leg of the relay in 23.23, a career best to put herself second in the all-time ASU record books. Hedenskog's quick times were not limited to her individual races, as her 50 free splits were 22.40 in the morning relay and 22.45 in the evening relay, although only the opening leg of relays are considered official times for individual records.
The Sun Devils did not place a swimmer in the final round in either of the next two events, the 500 freestyle and the 200 individual medley. ASU's lone entry in the 500 freestyle was Sandra Steffensen, who recorded a 4:54.91 in the prelims to finish 49th.
?gnes Kov?cs was the Sun Devils' highest finisher in the 200 IM, with a 2:00.68 to place 17th in prelims, one-hundredth of a second shy of advancing to the consolation final. Petra Banovic was the other ASU swimmer in the 200 IM, clocking a 2:03.25 in the prelims to finish 40th.
In the 50 freestyle, Claire Hedenskog finished in eighth place in the championship final after touching the wall in 22.91. Her 22.64 in the morning's preliminaries smashed her previous school record of 22.97 that she set at the Pac-10 Championships. Hedenskog earned first-team All-American honors for her effort.
In the final swimming event of the day, ASU clocked the third-fastest time in Sun Devil history in the 400 medley relay with a 3:40.57, finishing 13th. Szigeti, Kov?cs, Mauro, and Hedenskog swam the event, with Szigeti registering a 55.92 in the opening 100 backstroke leg to move herself into fourth all-time in ASU history for the 100 back.
In the diving pool, Trisha Tumlinson placed 12th in the 1-meter springboard with a 270.05 that she recorded in the day's preliminary round. Tumlinson was a part of a tight cluster of divers vying for a spot in the final round and missed qualifying by less than five points.
Prelims tomorrow begin at 11:00 a.m. and the finals begin at 6:00 p.m. The standings for the top 16 teams after day 1 are as follows:
1) AUBURN 168.5
2) GEORGIA 123
3) TEXAS 114
4) SOUTHERN METHOD. 104
5) STANFORD 81.5
6) SOUTHERN CAL. 81
7) FLORIDA 79
8) CALIFORNIA 62
9) UCLA 45
10) VIRGINIA 37
11) ARIZONA STATE 36
12) MICHIGAN 34
13) WISCONSIN 33
14) ARIZONA 32
15) TENNESSEE 31
16) WASHINGTON 25