Dec. 1, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. (www.thesundevils.com) -- Sun Devil swimming completed its first day of competition at the Texas Invitational Thursday held in Austin, Texas. In all, six Sun Devils recorded a NCAA "B" qualifying time or better and the women's 200-yard freestyle relay team and 400-yard medley relay team also recorded NCAA consideration times.
Arizona State University sophomore swimmer Caitlin Andrew (San Antonio, Texas) finished second in the final and was less than three tenths of a second off her school record in the 100-yard butterfly. Her season-best time of 52.90 was good enough for a NCAA "A" qualifying time giving her an automatic bid to the NCAAs. Andrew also swam the opening leg of the 200-yard freestyle relay for the Sun Devils helping the relay team to NCAA consideration time of 1:32.47, just two one-hundredths of a second off the fifth-fastest time in school history. She was also on the 400-yard medley relay team that recorded a NCAA consideration time of 3:43.53.
On the women's side, sophomores Sarah Fischer (Boulder, Colo.) and Ellis Schieman (Shaker Heights, Ohio) recorded NCAA consideration times in the 500-yard freestyle. Fischer's time of 4:49.43 is her fastest time of the season in the event and less than three tenths of a second off of her personal-best. Freshman Jen Beckberger (Ajax, Ontario) and senior Heidi Schmidt (Visalia, Calif.) also recorded NCAA consideration times in the 50-yard freestyle.
For the men, sophomore Lucas Azevedo (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) put himself in the ASU record books with a time of 4:20.69 in the 500-yard freestyle. It is the sixth-fastest time in school history in the event and is also a NCAA consideration time. Junior Richie Crowder (Los Gatos, Calif.) also recorded a NCAA consideration time and personal-best time of 20.06, which is the eighth-fastest time in school history.
ASU swimming continues competition tomorrow at the Texas Invitational while diving will begin competition at the Buckeye Invitational hosted by Ohio State University.
-- Arizona State Swimming & Diving --