The Arizona swimming and diving teams gave ASU a swimming lesson during their last dual meet of the season Saturday in Tempe.
The No. 6 women’s team dominated ASU 181-107, winning 12 of 16 events, while the No. 7 men’s team won 11 of 16 events to beat the Sun Devils 172-123.
“”Today was a great indication of where we are at,”” Arizona head swimming coach Frank Busch said in a press release. “”We had a lot of fun today and it’s good to see a sign that we are on the right path. The kids feel rested and like they are on target for a good postseason. The entire coaching staff feels really confident with the way we are performing right now.””
Senior diver Tiffany Manning went out as Arizona diving head coach Michele Mitchell-Rocha expected, winning both springboard events.
Men’s senior diver John Collier, who competed against defending NCAA champion and senior Joona Puhakka, won the 3-meter and took second in the 1m.
Later in the day, Collier made his college swimming debut when he anchored the sixth-place 200-yard free relay team. Busch said he let Collier swim in the event because he was competing against the defending NCAA champion, and he won the 3m.
“”John and I made a deal at the
beginning of the meet,”” Busch said. “”Since he was competing against the defending national champion, I told him if he won at least one of his events, I would let him swim in the relay. He was really excited and the whole team was going crazy on deck.””
The men’s swimming team started its winning streak with the 200y medley relay. The team of senior Lyndon Ferns, sophomores Albert Subirats, Ivan Barnes and freshman Ryan Richardson won in 1:28.57.
Senior Simon Burnett took first in the 200y freestyle, followed by freshman Matt Barnard.
Arizona won another one, two, three finish in the 100y backstroke, as sophomore Nick Thoman took first in 49.05, followed by senior Dave Rollins and junior Adam Ritter. Thoman won the 200y backstroke in 1:47.03.
Barnes took an individual win in the 100y breaststroke in 54.79.
Arizona dominated the 100y freestyle; Burnett was first, followed by Barnard and Subirats.
Ferns took another individual win in the 100y butterfly and Burnett won the 200y individual medley in an exhibition race.
The women’s team fared equally well in Tempe.
The women started the winning off with the 200y medley relay team of seniors Jenna Gresdal, Erin Sieper, Lisa Pursley and sophomore Courtney Cashion, earning the top spot with a time of 1:41.68. Junior Whitney Myers won the 1,000y freestyle in 10:12.43.
Arizona took the top three spots in the 200y freestyle; freshman Anna Turner took first, second went to senior Katie Willis and Cashion took third.
Senior Marshi Smith won the 100y backstroke in 56.04.
The women also took the top three slots in the 100y breaststroke, as freshman Jessica Embick took first, followed by sophomore Jacquelyn Craft, then Sieper.
Pursley won the 200y butterfly, while sophomore Lacey Nymeyer took first in the 50y freestyle and the 500y freestyle. Craft also won the 200y breastroke.
Next up for the Wildcats is the Pac-10 Championships. The women will compete in Long Beach, Calif., Feb. 22-25, and the men will compete in Federal Way, Wash., March 1-4.
Information taken from a press release on www.arizonaathletics.com.