After finishing in the top three at the Western Athletic Conference Championships the last five years, and three of those being second place finishes the University of Nevada swimming & diving team broke through in 2007 to capture it’s first WAC title. The Wolf Pack trailed Hawai`i by two points after the first day but took control on day two and led the meet the next three days to knock off the 2006 champion Rainbow Wahine 810.5 to 730. The Pack went 18-0 in dual competition last season and has won 10 or more duals each of the last six years.
2007-08
The 2007-08 edition of the Pack swimming & diving team is seeking to repeat as WAC Champions as the bulk of the team returns this season. Of the team’s 20 letterwinners last season, 13 return, 10 swimmers and three divers.
The Pack will look to long time assistant coach Mike Richmond to lead them to a second consecutive WAC title in 2008. After eight seasons as the team’s assistant Richmond will take over as the head coach this season. Former Pack long distance swimmer Ping Luo will serve as Nevada’s top assistant. Two other former Pack swimmers Charlene Rigdon and Larissa Cadag will assist Richmond. Diving coach Jian Li You enters her 12th season of directing the Pack divers. In 2001 and 2004 You was named WAC Diving Coach of the Year.
“I think this team is full of potential, and a great deal of that potential is hidden, just lying in wait to explode onto the scene,” said Richmond. “Certainly we have our proven veterans and some new recruits with great accolades, but to me it's going to be exciting to see the ones that will shock people with some explosive performances this season and continue that into the future. There is such great potential for this team, if we can just develop that personality of this team that has an incredible work ethic, and great team chemistry that produces a family atmosphere, and thus far, we've been on track to accomplish that.”
Richmond and his staff must find replacements three swimmers and three divers who scored points for the team at the WAC Championships last season. Backstroker Li Bei had three top five finishes at the WAC meet, while breaststroker Mallory Welker posted a pair of top 10 placings, and Cadag placed in the top 10 in two individual medley events.
Three of You’s divers that had top 10 finishes at the WAC meet last season are not back this season. Samantha Rose posted two top 10 finishes, Kristen Littell was second in the platform, and Ashley Potoc placed fourth in the platform at last year’s WAC meet.
SWIMMERS
The Pack return 10 swimmers who scored points at last year’s WAC Championships. Heading the list of returners is 2007 WAC Freshman of they Year, Margaret Doolittle. Doolittle won the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke and placed second in the 200-yard IM. She also swam on the winning 200 and 400-yard medley relay’s.
Senior Michaela Schmidt returns for third season in the Silver & Blue. Schmidt won the 50-yard freestyle at last year’s WAC meet and had two other top five finishes taking third in the 200-yard butterfly and fifth in the 100-yard butterfly. She helped the 200 and 400-yard medley relays to first place finishes in addition she was on the third place 400-yard freestyle relay.
Nonie Wainwright had her top WAC meet since coming to Nevada placing second in the 50-yard freestyle and taking seventh in the 100-yard freestyle. Wainwright, a senior also swam the first leg of the Pack’s winning 200-yard medley relay.
Bobbie Lee Reese returns for her senior season this year after posting three top 10 finishes last year and swimming on two relays that placed third as the WAC meet. Reese’s top finish was third in the 200-yard freestyle but she was also sixth in the 100 and 500-yard freestyle events.
Julianne Fritcher posted her top finish at the WAC meet last season placing 10th in the 100-yard backstroke to earn the team seven points. Fritcher is one of five senior swimmers on the team this season.
Kim Kabesh continued the success she had her freshman year when she was named 2006 WAC Freshman of the Year bringing home three top five individual finishes at last year’s conference meet as a sophomore. Kabesh, who returns for her junior season, was second in both the 100 and 200-yard butterfly, fifth in the 100-yard backstroke, and swam on a pair of Pack relays, the first place 400-yard medley relay and third place 800-yard freestyle relay.
Sophomore JayDee Huppert and junior Alyson Armstrong had strong showings at the conference meet a year ago. Huppert scored points in three individual events placing seventh in the 50-yard freestyle, eighth the 100-yard freestyle, and 16th in the 200-yard freestyle. Armstrong scored points with both of her 13th place finishes in the 200-yard butterfly and 1,650-yard freestyle.
Danielle Maddock, Miranda Moore, and Sarah Shields earned the team valuable points in the WAC meet as freshmen and will be counted on to improve in their second season at Nevada. Maddock had three top 10 finishes competing in the short distance freestyle events and she also swam on the Pack’s third place 400 and 800-yard freestyle relay squads.
Shields finished second to Doolittle in the 100-yard breaststroke and was 11th in the 200-yard breaststroke. Competing in the distance events Moore placed in the top 11 in three events with her top finish being sixth in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Senior Jessica Hemmingsen, junior Stephanie Smith along with sophomores Samantha Neff and Kaitlyn Whiteside return this season. Hemmingsen, Neff, and Whiteside all swam exhibition events at last year’s WAC meet. Smith missed most of last season due to illness but as a freshman had three top 20 finishes at the 2005 WAC Championship.
Joining the 16 returners are 10 newcomers, Amanda Caines(free), Courtney Eads(fly/IM), Marichi Gandionco(fly/free), Summer Halwas-Morgan(breast/IM), Kasey Hartsock(free), Colleen Heauser(breast), Kayla Mariani(fly/back/IM), Michelle McDonald(free), Kim Medina(fly/IM), and Jeanette Tour(back).
Eads, a junior, is one of the team’s top recruits and brings a wealth of experience after swimming her freshman year at Oregon State two years ago. The freshman Tour will be counted on in the backstroke to help ease the losses to graduation. Halwas-Morgan is a sophomore who last competed at Pacific two years ago and used last year as a redshirt season after transferring to Nevada.
DIVERS
Three veteran divers will be joined by a two freshman to make up the Wolf Pack diving portion of the squad this season. Senior Trisha Wesner, junior Candice Minette, and sophomore Chelsea Sawyer are the three returning letterwinners while freshmen Lauren Manix and Heather Ramirez are first year members of the squad.
Sawyer had the most success at the WAC meet last season placing in the top five in all three diving disciplines. She took fourth in the 1 and 3-meter events and earned a fifth place finish in the platform.
Minette was fifth in the 1 and 3-meter events and 10th in the platform as she finished in the top 10 in all three competitions. Wesner’s top finish was 15th in the 1-meter where she scored points for the Pack.
SCHEDULE
The 2007-08 schedule will again be challenging for the experienced squad this season. The team will compete 10 duals and two invitationals in preparation for the season ending WAC Championships. Over the past eight seasons the team has gone 89-12 in dual competition.
Nevada opens the season against stiff competition at the Pacific Invitational. Teams scheduled to compete in include top five ranked California, along with Oregon State, UC Davis, and the host Tigers along with Nevada.
An early November trip to the midwest has the Pack taking on Nebraska, Iowa, and Nebraska-Omaha in two double duals. After a month of training the team travels to Moscow, Idaho to dual WAC member Idaho on back to back days on December 7-8.
During the holiday break the Pack will take their annual training trip this year to Honolulu, Hawaii. While in Hawai`i they will compete in the Hawai`i Invitational.
Nevada hosts its only two home competitions in mid January taking on WAC member Boise State on Jan. 12 followed by another dual with a WAC school, New Mexico State on Jan. 17.
The final regular season competition is a double-dual with UC San Diego and UC Davis on Jan. 20 in Davis, Calif.
The WAC Championships take place Feb. 20-23 and will again be contested in San Antonio, Texas at Palo Alto College Natatorium. The NCAA diving zones will be held Mar. 14-16 in Oklahoma City and the NCAA Championships are in Columbus, Ohio Mar. 20-22.
