UA women one win from perfect year

By Jacinda Sweet
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 2, 1996

The Arizona men's and women's swimming and diving teams travel to Tempe tomorrow to battle state rival Arizona State University. The meet begins at 1 p.m.

The No. 5 ranked women's team (7-0) is coming off a slim victory over No. 4 Texas, 188.5-180, while the ninth-ranked men (3-4) are looking to snap a two-meet losing streak. Two weeks ago the UA men traveled to the Bay Area schools, where they were defeated by California (156-103) and Stanford (150-80).

The No. 12 ASU men and No. 17 women (4-4) last swam against Brigham Young and Utah. The women defeated the Utes, 176-119, but fell to BYU, 163-138. The men swept both BYU (187-115) and Utah (163-137).

Competing against a state rival is always grounds for anticipation, but for the unbeaten women's team, this could be one for the ages.

"This is the last dual meet of the year for both teams, and it is going to be very exciting," UA head swim coach Frank Busch said. "If the women's team wins this, they'll go undefeated (on the season), which has never happened before. (I think) this is the best team we've ever had."

The women are led by All-American Ashley Tappin, who returned to action last week against Texas. Tappin took first place in the 100-meter freestyle, posting a time of 51.03 seconds.

"It was great to have Tappin back," Busch said. "She really enjoys competition and we were glad to see her get her first win."

Leading the ASU women's team is senior Chris Jeffrey, who swept three events against BYU and Utah.

The UA men will face a tough challenge against ASU. The Sun Devils are led by Francisco Sanchez, who swept both the 50 and 100 freestyle events against BYU.

"It will be close on the men's side," Busch said. "We are pretty evenly matched."

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