Feb. 11, 2004
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This Week
The Arizona State swimming and diving teams (No. 15 men, No. 21 women) take on intrastate rival Arizona (No. 8 men, No. 7 women) on Saturday, February 14, at 1 p.m. at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. The annual battle returns to Tempe this season and is the Sun Devils' final tuneup before the Pac-10 Championships.
The Polls
In the sixth poll released by the CSCAA for the 2003-04 season, the ASU men are ranked 15th while the women are ranked 21st. For the complete poll, see the second page of this release or visit www.cscaa.org. The next poll is to be released this Thursday, February 12.
ASU vs. Arizona
The Sun Devil men hold a 3-2 advantage over the Wildcats in their last five meetings while the ASU women are winless against Arizona in that same period. At last year's meet in Tucson, the Sun Devil men were edged by the narrowest of margins, 150-149, as each team won eight of 16 events. The scoreline represented the closest meet the Sun Devil men have been a part of since the 1988-89 season when they were edged by California 57-56 in Tempe. During the 1990s, the men's team was involved in only two meets that were comparably close: a 151-149 win against Arizona in '93-'94 and a 124-122 loss to California in the '97-'98 season.
Sun Devils In National Top-15
Several Arizona State swimmers rank in the top-15 nationally in their respective events according to the latest Taper & Shave College Quick 50. For the men, Nick Brunelli is tied for 14th in the 50 freestyle (20.11) and 15th in the 100 freestyle (44.37). Ahmed Hussein is 10th in the 100 backstroke (48.09) and 11th in the 200 backstroke (1:45.32) while David Kolozar is eighth in the 200 butterfly (1:45.88). For the women, Florencia Szigeti is fifth nationally in the 100 freestyle (49.79) while ?gnes Kov?cs is fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.94), second in the 200 breaststroke (2:11.12), sixth in the 200 IM (1:59.64) and 15th in the 400 IM (4:17.33).
ASU, Last Time In The Pool
The Sun Devils wrapped up their Northern California trip on January 24, with both squads suffering setbacks against the undefeated California teams. The men's team dropped a 166-128 decision to the No. 4 Golden Bears while the women's squad was on the short side of a 185-110 scoreline against No. 8 Cal. Both meets were conducted in short course meters. Sophomore All-American diver Joona Puhakka swept the diving events for the Arizona State men, winning the 1-meter with a score of 388.58 and the 3-meter with an effort of 369.68. In the swimming pool, senior All-American Nick Brunelli captured the 200 freestyle by over a second, touching the wall in 1:49.78, a season best and a NCAA consideration time. On the women's side, the Sun Devil divers dominated the field, finishing 1-2-3 on the 3-meter and 1-2 on the 1-meter. The 3-meter finished with sophomore All-American Trisha Tumlinson in first (294.90), senior Jessica Stenson in second (259.95) and freshman Cassidy Farwell in third (257.93). The 1-meter again went to Tumlinson (282.97) with Stenson behind her (237.23). In the swimming pool for the women, freshman Christine Creek swept the breaststroke events for the Sun Devils, clocking a 1:12.59 in the 100 and 2:34.23 in the 200. Junior All-American Florencia Szigeti won the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.32.
The Pac-10 Championships
Next on the schedule for the swimming and diving teams are their respective Pac-10 Championships. The women's swimming Championship is February 25-28 at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach, Calif. The men's and women's diving Championship is February 26-28 at the Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash. The men's swimming Championship is March 3-6 at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach, Calif. The format for the swimming Championships will take on a somewhat different format for 2004. Instead of the traditional Thursday-Saturday schedule, action will begin on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. PST with the 800 freestyle relay and the 200 medley relay. The rest of the days will feature preliminaries at 11 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m. Thursday's events are the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 200 free relay. Friday's events are the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and 400 medley relay. Saturday's events are the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay.
Follow The Action Online
The women's Pac-10 Championships in Long Beach are being hosted by Arizona State. ASU's Pac-10 Championships webpage can be accessed by clicking this link. The site contains links to updated information on all competing teams and will have updated event results as soon as they are available for posting on the web.