March 2, 2004
This Week in the Pool - The ninth-ranked Arizona men's swimming team will travel to Long Beach, Calif., to compete in the 2004 Pac-10 Championships on March 4-6 at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool.
A Look at the Opponents - The 2004 Pac-10 Championships will feature some of the top teams in the nation. According to the latest CSCAA Top-25, poll there are three Pac-10 teams ranked in the Top-10, including No. 2 Stanford, who is undefeated in the Pac-10 (4-0) as well as non-league duals (7-0). The No. 4 California Golden Bears placed second at last year's Pac-10 Championships and finished the 2003-04 dual meet season with a dual-meet record of 5-1 (3-1 Pac-10). Included in the Top-25 is No. 13 USC (1-5, 04 Pac-10), No.15 Arizona State (3-5, 1-4 Pac-10), and No.17 Washington (12-1 overall).
Last Time in the Water - The No. 5 Arizona Women's swim team competed last week in Long Beach for the 2004 Pac-10 Championships. The Wildcats finished in third place with a total of 1,221.5 points. The Arizona men's and women's diving teams traveled to Federal Way, Wash., to compete in the Pac-10 Diving Championships.
After the first night of competition, the 200-yard medley relay team of sophomore Jenna Gresdal, senior Jessica Wagner, sophomore Lisa Pursley, and sophomore Marshi Smith finished second, posting an NCAA consideration time of 1:40.49. The 800-yard freestyle relay team of sophomore Katie Willis, junior Jessica Hayes, junior Emily Mason, and freshman Melissa Johnson posted the second NCAA consideration time, taking third place with a time of 7:15.51.
In the second day of competition the Wildcats maintained the third place position with a total of 398 team points after six swimming events and 3-meter diving.
Junior Emily Mason took second place in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:40.02, automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships in March. For the second event of the evening, freshman Whitney Myers posted an NCAA consideration time in the 200-yard individual medley (2:02.03).
In the 50-yard freestyle, sophomores Marshi Smith and Jenna Gresdal placed fourth and fifth, respectively both finishing with NCAA consideration times. Posting the best time of the season in the 200-yard freestyle relay, Smith, Gresdal, junior Jessica Hayes and sophomore Ryann Hackett finished second with an NCAA consideration time of 1:31.39.
After three days of competition at the 2004 Pac-10 Championships the Arizona women stayed in third palce with 821 points. Freshman Mary Yarrison took second place in the 1-meter diving competition with a personal-best score of 289.20.
In the 400-yard individual medley, junior Emily Mason finished second, posting an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 4:09.53. Junior Jessica Hayes placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.75), posting an NCAA consideration time.
Senior Jessica Wagner finished third in the 100-yard breaststroke with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:01.80 and sophomore Erin Sieper finished sixth with an NCAA consideration time of 1:02.70.
In the 100-yard backstroke three Arizona swimmers posted NCAA consideration times. Smith took third place (54.55), Hayes was fifth (55.13), and Hackett finished eighth (55.76). The 400-yard medley relay team of Hayes, Wagner, Myers, and Smith earned third-place honors, posting an NCAA consideration time of 3:39.36.
For the men's Pac-10 diving competition, senior Josh Anderson finished fourth with 552.15 points, and sophomore John Collier was sixth with 521 points.
Hayes took home the Pac-10 title in the 200-yard backstroke with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:56.41.
In the platform diving competition for the Wildcats, Yarrison finished in third place with 377.30 points and senior Daniela Bemme was not far behind, finishing fourth with 371.05 points.
Freshman Melissa Johnson posted the first NCAA consideration time of the evening in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:45.59. In the 100-yard freestyle, sophomores Smith, Hackett, and freshman Kathryn Elofson finished with consolation final honors, each posting an NCAA consideration time.
In the 200-yard breaststroke, sophomore Erin Sieper and Wagner tallied two more NCAA consideration times, finishing fourth (2:15.58), and fifth (2:15.64), respectively. Myers finished fourth in the 200-yard butterfly (1:56.37), and Mason finished sixth (1:56.81), as both swimmers posted NCAA automatic qualifying times in an extremely fast championship heat.
To end the meet, the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Hayes, Smith, freshman Lauren Preyss, and Hackett finished fourth with an NCAA consideration time of 3:21.07.
For the men's platform diving competition in Federal Way, Wash., senior Josh Anderson finished fourth with a total of 450.85 points.
Hurray for Hayes - Junior Jessica Hayes took home the Pac-10 title in the 200-yard backstroke at the 2004 Pac-10 Championships. Hayes swam the race in a time of 1:56.41, posting a new personal best time.
Flying Ferns - Sophomore Lyndon Ferns is currently ranked first in the NCAA for the 50-yard freestyle. Ferns broke two school records this season in the 100-yard freestyle (42.40) and 100-meter freestyle (48.99). He broke the South African record in the 100-meter freestyle held by former Wildcat NCAA champion Ryk Neethling.
Back in Action - Sophomore Simon Burnett returns to the Wildcats for the second semester after training for the 2004 Olympic games in Brittan. Burnett took home the NCAA title in the 200-freestyle as a freshman in a time of 1:33.69
Best of the Boards - Contributing to the Wildcats' third-place finish at the Pac-10 Championships was freshman Mary Yarrison. Yarrison took second place in the 3-meter competition with 491.55 points, as well as the 1-meter competition with 289.20 points. Yarrison placed third in the platform finals with 377.30 points.
Sweet Sixteen -- The Arizona men's and women's swim team have collectively qualified sixteen athletes for the NCAA Championships, which will be held in mid-March. The women's team qualifed seven swimmers including junior Jessica Hayes, senior Jessica Wagner, junior Emily Mason, freshman Whitney Myers, sophomore Marshi Smith, freshman Melissa Johnson, and sophomore Jenna Gresdal who will head to College Station, Texas, on March 18-20. The men's team will be sending nine athletes to Long Island, N.Y. on March 25-27 including sophomore Tyler DeBerry, senior Eric La Fleur, sophomore Lyndon Ferns, senior Luis Rojas, senior Juan Veloz, sophomore Simon Burnett, senior Greg Owen, sophomore Dave Rollins, and junior Byron Jeffers.
Arizona's Next Action - The Arizona diving team will head to Oklahoma City, Okla., to compete in the 2004 Zone E Diving Championships on March 11-13.
