By
Lindsey Manroel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Women's swim, men and women's dive, seek second-straight championship title
After putting a close to the regular spring season, the No. 2 Arizona women's swim and dive teams begin their next challenge: defending a Pacific 10 Conference title.
Arizona - who put an end to Stanford's dominance with a win last year - will try to repeat history in the meet, which starts today and runs through Saturday at the Weyerhaeuser King Country Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.
"I think that it will give us more drive to want to do it again," sophomore Annie Joseph said. "We had a taste of it last year and want to do it again this year."
At the 2000 Pac-10 Championships, Arizona placed first top in four of its individual events.
Junior Sarah Tolar captured a first place victory, with a time of 1:46.86 in the 200-meter freestyle.
A bronze medalist at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, Amanda Beard dominated the 200-meter breaststroke, recording a time of 2:10.41.
Sophomore Beth Botsford also captured a win in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 1:54.45, aiding the Wildcats' run.
Botsford - who captured a gold medal at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta in the 100-meter backstroke - will try to defend her title again this season.
Of the Arizona divers, then-junior Lindsay Berryman was the only Wildcat diver to carry out a victory, posting a 434.40 point performance.
Berryman is one of six UA seniors competing in this year's championships.
"(The seniors) want to go out strong and finish their career on a high note," head dive coach Michele Mitchell-Rocha said. "I think they are ready to do that."
Despite the confidence that comes with a Pac-10 Championship title, the Wildcats acknowledge the difficulty that awaits them, most notably from the powerhouse squads of Stanford and California.
"I think we have confidence, but the Pac-10 is the fastest conference in the nation," junior Katie Zimbone said. "There are tons of teams out there that have the opportunity to beat us. It's going to be tough for us, and even though we are going in with confidence, we are also going in knowing that it's not going to be an easy task."
Although the UA men's swim team will not compete until March 1, Arizona men's diving will travel to Seattle in hopes of contributing points to the men's point total.
Senior Omar Ojeda continues to pave the way for the Wildcats.
In UA's final home meet of its regular season against arch-rival Arizona State two weeks ago, the Wildcat broke two school records.
Mitchell-Rocha said the Wildcats are anticipating a good showing at the meet, which will be a springboard to the NCAA Championships in March.
"I never want to make predictions," Mitchell-Rocha said. "I think we have one of the stronger teams in the Pac-10. We had some good success throughout the (regular) season, and I would hope that would continue."
