San Antonio, Texas-----San Jose State University began defense of its Western Athletic Conference women's swimming and diving championship winning both relays on the opening night of the conference meet at the Palo Alto College Natatorium.

            The Spartans posted season best times of 1:40.08 in the 200 medley and 7:15.39 in the 800 freestyle relays. The two victories propelled San Jose State to a second-place start in the four-day WAC Championship meet.

           "The first day went better than expected. We're very happy with our start to the meet," said San Jose State head coach Sage Hopkins. "To win both relays, it was the first time in school history that we've done that at a WAC Championship."

            Northern Arizona leads the team competition with 118 points, 50 of them in the 1-meter dive. The Lumberjacks went 1-3-5. San Jose State is second with 101 and Idaho is third at 91 in the nine-team championship.

            Senior Marisa DeWames, the 2012 WAC Swimmer of the Year, anchored the Spartans' 200 free relay with a 22.02 split, fastest among all competitors. It was the fourth consecutive relay victory for DeWames at the WAC Championships dating back to last year.            Backstroker Michaela McLean, Darcie Anderson in the breaststroke and Ashlyn Acosta in the butterfly preceded DeWames into the pool on the relay.

            Amy Friedhoff, Julia Craddock, Erika Harvey and Kiley Foster combined to touch first for San Jose State in the 800 freestyle relay.
           "All eight swimmers really stepped up. For Julia Craddock, it was her first time swimming for us in the 800 relay and she had the second fastest split in school history," Hopkins said about his senior co-captain who was clocked in 1:48.04 for the Spartans' second leg. "And, our divers performed very well." 

            Divers Amy Kilby, fourth, and Jessica Holden, 11^th, scored the Spartans' remaining points on the first day in the 1-meter dive.

            The WAC Championship continues on February 28 with finals in the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle, 3-meter diving and 200 freestyle relay. Preliminary races begin at 11:00 a.m. (CT)/9:00 a.m. (PT) with finals starting at 6:30 p.m. (CT)/4:30 p.m. (PT). Live coverage is available at www.wacsports.com.

2013 Western Athletic Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Championships

Palo Alto College Natatorium, San Antonio, Texas

Feb. 27, 2013

Team Scoring (after three events) -

1.     Northern Arizona (NAU) - 118

2.     San Jose State (SJSU) - 101

3.     Idaho (UI) - 91

4.     New Mexico State (NMSU) - 80

5.     Denver (DU) - 71

6.     Northern Colorado (UNC) - 65

7.     North Dakota (UND) - 51

8.     CSU Bakersfield (CSUB) - 50

9.     Seattle U. (SU) - 36

200 Medley Relay - 1, San Jose State (Michaela McLean, Darcie Anderson, Ashlyn Acosta, Marisa DeWames), 1:40.08. 2, Northern Arizona, 1:40.99. 3, Denver, 1:41.42. 4, Idaho, 1:41.47. 5, New Mexico State, 1:41.92. 6, Northern Colorado, 1:42.70. 7, CSU Bakersfield, 1:43.42. 8, North Dakota, 1:43.83. 9, Seattle U., 1:46.15.

1-Meter Diving - Kris Ardavanis (NAU), 291.10; 2, Paige Hunt (UI), 284.10; 3, Chelsea Jackson (NAU), 270.70; 4, Amy Kilby, SJSU, 270.60. Other San Jose State - 11, Jessica Holden, 233.75.

400 Freestyle Relay - 1, San Jose State (Amy Friedhoff, Julia Craddock, Erika Harvey, Kiley Foster), 7:15.39. 2, Northern Arizona, 7:17.93. 3, Denver, 7:21.53. 4, New Mexico State, 7:25.09. 5, Idaho, 7:25.52. 6, CSU Bakersfield, 7:27.58. 7, North Dakota, 7:29.15. 8, Northern Colorado, 7:31.12. 9, Seattle U., 7:48.55.