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Swimming teams' streaks continue against Sun Devils

At last weekend's swimming and diving meet against Arizona State in Tempe, two streaks continued for the UA women's and men's teams.

That was fortunate, at least, for the women's team.

The second-ranked Arizona women finished its season in impressive fashion with a 141-102 victory against the Sun Devils.

The team (9-2 overall, 4-1 in Pacific 10 Conference) captured the first four events of the meet and never trailed in its sixth straight dual meet win against AS.

Senior All American Denali Knapp, who won 50-meter free-style and the 200 backstroke, paced the way for the Wildcats.

"This was a great way to end our season," Knapp said. "This meet shows that we are a team that swims their hardest when we are way ahead or way behind."

Other event winners for Arizona included freshmen Beth Botsford (400 medley relay) and Amanda Beard (400 medley, 200 breast), sophomores Erin Vogt (400 medley), Caroline Kilian (200 free), and Jenny Vanker (400 medley and 100 free), and senior Trina Jackson (400 free).

The men's team, though, was unable to snap its losing streak to ASU, which has defeated UA in every dual meet since 1995.

The No. 2 Arizona men (5-3, 2-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference) were upset by the No. 11 Sun Devils, 128-115.

Losing to the Sun Devils was not a total disappointment, as ASU had been aggressively preparing for this meet, UA sophomore Roland Schoeman said.

"They went out of their way to be well rested, which is good because every dual meet has been a tough competition," Schoeman said.

"Every one of their swimmers were shaved and rested, and it was amazing that we were still able to win the (400 free) relay. It showed that we are tough swimmers and that we don't back down from any challenge."

Besides the relay victory, which also included seniors Coley Stickels and Ryk Neethling, and junior Ben Anderson, the Wildcats received a strong performance from Neethling, who won the 200 and 800 free events.

Other winners were senior Matt Allen in the 200 backstroke, senior Nat Lewis in the 400 meter free and Schoeman in the 100 meter free.

Junior diver Marc Briggs was a big factor for ASU (3-6), as he swept the one and three meter diving competitions.

The UA women next compete Feb. 24-26 in the Pac-10 Championships at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach, Calif. Also, both the men's and women's diving team will be competing.

The men's team is off until March 2-4 when they travel to Federal Way, Wash. for the Pac-10 Championships.