ASU set to host men's swimming Pac-10 Championships
GENERAL INFORMATION
WHAT
Pacific-10 Conference Men's Swimming Championships.
WHERE
Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool, Long Beach, Calif.
WHEN
Wednesday, March 4 - Saturday, March 7, 2009.
WHO
Men's swimming teams from ARIZONA, ARIZONA STATE, CALIFORNIA, STANFORD, USC and WASHINGTON will compete for bragging rights at the 2009 Pac-10 Men's Swimming Championships.
TICKETS
All tickets will be available at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool on the day of the event only.
*Admission is FREE on Wednesday, March 4.
All Session Pass:
Adult: $25.00
Student with ID/Senior $15.00
One Day Pass:
Adult: $10.00
Student with ID/Senior: $6.00
MEDIA CONTACT
The Arizona State sports information office will handle publicity for the 2009 Men's Swimming Championships. Jen Jaeckels, the Sun Devils' swimming contact, can be reached at (480) 584-9591.
MEET RESULTS
At the conclusion of the event, results will be posted on the Pac-10 web site (www.pac-10.org ), as well as on Arizona State's web site (www.thesundevils.com ). Please contact Regina Verlengiere at the Pacific-10 Conference office for more information.
Senioritis
Senior Boyle has already began to make a statement his senior year. The Lake Elsinore, Calif., native has already earned three NCAA consideration times. At the Texas Invitational, Boyle moved himself to second on ASU's all-time list with an NCAA consideration time of 1:44.98. He placed fourth in the event. Boyle also shattered his personal record in the 200 free to put him at sixth on ASU's all-time list at 1:35.91. Boyle also earned an NCAA consideration time in the 500 free with a time of 4:23.03.
Love that Muddy Water
Mohammed Madwa, aka Muddy, positioned himself at No. 9 in the 50 free earlier this season. Clocking in a time 20.05, the 2008 Olympian entered ASU's top 10 with a personal best.
Max it Out
Earlier in the season, Max Laney put his name at sixth on ASU's all-time in the 200 back. The Colorado native clocked in a time of 1:46.22 to enter his name on the top-10 list.
Diving Recap
Micky Benedetti took home his third consecutive Pac-10 3-meter championship. The All-American fell in his attempt to sweep the diving events for the second consecutive season as he finished third in the 1-meter and sixth on platform. Cameron Bradshaw placed sixth in the 1-meter.
Looking at the Competition
• ARIZONA, last year's national champion, is currently ranked No. 2 in the college swimming rankings. Junior co-captain Jack Brown has provided leadership and experience to the Wildcats this season. Brown is one of the team's top performers in the individual medley events as well as the long distance freestyles. Fellow junior Jake Tapp has excelled for Arizona this season. He was named Pac-10 Swimmer of the Month for January after he won eight events, including five in the Wildcats' upset over top-ranked Texas. Tapp also provides solid relay support for the `Cats.
• CALIFORNIA has won six meets on the year and finished first in the Husky Invitational in early December. The Golden Bears, ranked sixth in the nation, have broken two school records this season on their way to a 6-2 record. Sophomore Nathan Adrian set a new program mark in the 50 free (18.94), while fellow sophomore Damir Dugonjic holds the school record in the 100 breaststroke (52.14) and the nation's top time. Other individual Cal times in the top 10 nationally are Guy Barnea in the 100 back (2nd, 46.37), David Russell also in the 100 back (4th, 46.59) and freshman Martin Liivamagi in the 200 IM (9th, 1:45.30). The Golden Bears will be defending their 200 freestyle and 200 and 400 medley relay titles at this year's Pac-10 meet.
• STANFORD enters the Pac-10 Championships ranked No. 1 nationally after completeing an undefeated dual meet season (8-0; 5-0 Pac-10). The Cardinal are the owners of one of the most impressive streaks in NCAA history, and a Pac-10 record for any sport, with 27 consecutive Conference titles in swimming. Stanford has also placed among the top-four teams at the NCAA Championships for 27 straight years. The Cardinal are led by senior Paul Kornfeld, the 2008 NCAA and Pac-10 champion in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. Also making an impact for Stanford this season is sophomore Austin Staab. The Westerville, Ohio, native will look to defend his 100 fly title at the Conference championships. In addition to Kornfeld and Staab, the Cardinal feature three swimmers who competed in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (Jason Dunford, David Dunford and Phillip Morrison).
• USC will look to its two seniors with NCAA Championship experience, Vanni Mangoni and Ankur Poseria, to lead the Trojans at the 2009 Pac-10 Championships. Mangoni is a two-time All-American and currently holds the Pac-10 title in the 400 individual medley. Poseria claims a top-20 time nationally in the 100 fly (47.00) this season. Other USC swimmers that will contribute for the Trojans are juniors Zoltan Povazsay and James Martin. Povazsay was the Pac-10 Swimmer of the Month for November after winning three events, including the 500 free (4:25.48) in USC's upset over defending national champion Arizona. Martin entered the Trojans' all-time top 10 in the 400 IM this year with a time of 3:49.00.
• The 25th-ranked WASHINGTON Huskies have set six school records this season, including the 800 free relay team of Jon Banker, Russ Mahan, Andre Blyth and Evan Bernier with a time of 6:30.24. Senior Scott Sansail has led the way for the Huskies this season, breaking three records of his own in the 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyles. Bernier also set an individual record this year in the 100 back (47.82). He has won 15 races this season in five different events for UW. The Huskies' third indivdual to break a school record was Banker in the 200 back and he holds the number two spot in program histroy in the 100 back behind