Arizona came into Day 2 of the Pacific 10 Conference championships with a four-point deficit to leader California. And just like in Day 1 the Wildcats came out of the blocks with a win and gain a 510.5-448.5 lead over the Golden Bears with Stanford in a close third with 430 points.
With arguably the biggest surprise of the meet thus far, freshman Alyssa Anderson made her Pac-10 Championship debut by winning the 500-yard freestyle in 4:38.71, defeating California’s Lauren Boyle by less than half a second.
Earlier in the day, Anderson only placed eighth in the preliminary round of the event, meaning she was the last swimmer to qualify for the ‘A’ heat in the finals. That one place turned out to be the difference as a ninth place finish with the same finals time would have cost Arizona 12 points.
“”She wasn’t ready to go in the morning and was really ready to go tonight,”” said UA head coach Frank Busch. “”She thought she was the best swimmer in the field, and I think she had something to prove.””
In the 200y individual medley, Stanford stars Julia Smit and Elaine Breeden finished 1-2 but were followed by Arizona swimmers Jenny Forster, Julie Stupp and Andrea Boritzke, while four other Wildcats scored in the event.
UA senior Lara Jackson placed first in the 50-yard freestyle finals, setting a Pac-10 meet record of 21.36, which was just 0.03 seconds off her American record. The Wildcats placed six swimmers in the top-15 places of the event with Justine Schluntz placing sixth and Anna Turner placing ninth.
The Wildcats finished the meet just as they had started, winning a relay. They took the 200y freestyle relay with a team of Jackson, Turner, Schluntz and Taylor Baughman. Touching the wall in 1:27.47, they denied second-place California from edging closer going into Day 3.
Ainsley Oliver – Arizona’s lone women’s diver – scored 23 points for the team as she placed seventh in the 1-meter finals with a score of 262.60. Oliver has been an asset Arizona didn’t have last year and that could help what may be a tight race down the stretch.
“”She’s doing really well,”” Busch said. “”I’m really happy for her.””
