Jan. 16, 2002
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This Week
Following four days of training, the San Diego State swimming and diving team concludes its trip to Honolulu with a double-dual competition against Hawai'i and UNLV on Friday at 6 p.m. (Hawaii Time). The Aztecs (6-2 dual) look to continue a three-meet win streak in dual competition after sweeping a double dual with UC Irvine and Fresno State last weekend in Irvine, Calif.
Recapping UC Irvine/Fresno State
SDSU scored first-place finishes in nine of 16 events en route to a 158-140 win over Fresno State and a 175-125 win over UC Irvine. SDSU also set six season bests in the outing. Six of the SDSU wins came by way of three athletes, with Megan Storey, Meghan Casillan and Jennifer Graham earning two wins apiece. Storey took top honors in the 200 butterfly, where she swam a season-best of 2:08.41, and the 500 freestyle (5:03.75). Graham set a season best with her top finish of 2:22.46 in the 200 breaststroke and also swam to a first-place time of 1:06.23 in the 100 breast. Casillan clocked in with a season-best 2:05.24 in the 200 backstroke and a 58.19 in the 100 back. SDSU set three more season bests on the day. One came courtesy of Erin Kilpatrick's second-place finish of 1:54.62 in the 200 free. Two more came in the diving tank, where Teri Hodgkinson scored 166.27 points on the 1-meter springboard and 180.74 points in the 3-meter competition.
For The Record
After last weekend's pair of wins, the Aztecs have already doubled their win total in dual competition from the 2000-01 season when the team went 3-7. The six wins are the most since the program posted a final dual mark of 7-7 during the 1999-2000 campaign. That season SDSU posted four consecutive dual-meet wins, the most since the program was reinstated in 1994. Counting this Friday's matchup the team has five more dual meets this season.
Aztecs Vs. The MWC
UNLV will be the fifth Mountain West Conference team SDSU has faced in dual competition this season. The Aztecs defeated Air Force (93-47) and New Mexico (94-46) on Nov. 3 in San Diego and squared off against Brigham Young (L, 150-91) and Utah (L, 166-120) in each school's respective hometown in November. The Aztecs got a taste of the other two league schools in invitational action, meeting up with Wyoming and Colorado State two weeks ago at the UCI Invite. SDSU also competed against UNLV, UNM and Wyoming swimmers at the UNLV Winter Invitational in December.
Aztec Honors
Two SDSU swimmers have earned the league's swimmer of the week honor this season. Sophomore Megan Storey was named the Mountain West Conference's swimmer of the week on Dec. 13. The honor came following her two-win performance versus Northern Arizona. She placed first in the 500-yard freestyle (5:06.03) and set a season-best time of 10:21.43 in the 1,000 free. The honor was the second of her career and makes her the second Aztec to earn the weekly award this season. Senior Meghan Casillan was honored the week of Nov. 14 following a three-win performance at USD.
Cleaning Up
The Aztecs have placed first in 56 events thus far this season, nine of those wins have come in relay competition. Thirty-five of the 47 wins in individual events come by way of four athletes. Senior Meghan Casillan and sophomore Megan Storey have 11 each, senior Heather DeFelice has seven and junior Erin Kilpatrick has six.
The 1-2 Punch
The Aztecs' 1-2 sweeps in the 100 breaststroke, and 100 and 200 butterfly this past weekend mark the 24th time the team has done that this season. SDSU has recorded two 1-2-3 sweeps and one 1-2-3-4 sweep this season.
On The List
Four Aztecs are listed among the Mountain West Conference's top-five times in several events this season. Sophomore Megan Storey is listed in three events. She owns the league's third-fastest times in the 1,650 freestyle (17:01.34) and 500 free (5:01.18), along with the fourth-best in the 1,000 free (10:22.35). Senior Meghan Casillan is listed second in the 100 and 200 backstroke with times of 58.03 and 2:05.42, respectively. Junior Erin Kilpatrick holds the conference's fifth-best swim in the 200 butterfly (2:08.72). Senior Heather DeFelice's school-record time of 23.90 in the 50 free is the fifth best by an MWC swimmer this season, and her her 1:05.80 time in the 100 breaststroke ranks her fourth.
Looking Ahead
The Aztecs continue their dual-meet schedule on Jan. 25 in Los Angeles when they face Loyola Marymount and Cal Poly. A day later the team concludes its regular-season slate when they meet up with Pepperdine in Malibu. the MWC Championships will be held Feb. 27-Mar. 2 in Oklahoma City.
