Oct. 22, 2008

THIS WEEK

With three weeks between meets, the Utes are focusing on preparing for their first home meet of the season against the University of Denver Saturday, Nov.1, at Ute Natatorium at 1 pm. The Pioneers men are ranked #5 and the women are #10 in the collegeswimming.com polls.

LAST WEEK

The Utah women's team will head into the Denver meet with a 5-0 record, recently defeating Mountain West Conference rival, San Diego State, 168-132. The Aztecs got out to a lead early, winning four of the first five events of the meet. Utah came back strong, taking the top three spots in the 100 breast event as well as registering top-two performances in the two diving events. Utah finished with 11 top finishes. Eight different swimmers finished first as well, setting Aztec Aquaplex records in every one of those events. Utah also swept the MWC Swimmer and Diver of the Week awards, with Whitney Lopus (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Anna Braszkiewicz (Warsaw, Poland) receiving the honors for their performances against San Diego State, Boise State, and Washington.

The Utah men's team is looking to get its first win of the season. The Utes last competed against Washington, showing their endurance in the 200 IM, 500 free, and 200 breast, but could not avoid a 149-125 loss. Michael Glasson (Price, Utah) was awarded the MWC Diver of the Week for performances on the 1 and 3-meter dive against Washington.

UTE NOTES

The Utes lost last year's matchup against the Pioneers, both by small margins, and will look to use the home pool advantage to the win. The women went 5-1 at home last year while the men finished 0-2.

Lopus and Hannah Caron (Raleigh, N.C.) have both made a huge impact on the team as freshman. Lopus has taken first in nine events, mainly in the fly events. Caron has also eight first-place finishes, showing her versatility with wins in the 100 free, the 200 breast, and the 100 and 200 fly.

Junior John Baque (Olympia, Wash.) has shown great ability in the breast events, finishing with impressive times against Washington. Freshman Eric Bonnicelli (Overland Park, Kan.) earned top finishes in the 500 free and 400 IM against Washington as well.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

The Utes get ready to take on a talented Denver team Nov. 1. The Pioneers are considered one of the top teams in the nation. The men were ranked fifth and the women ranked 10th in the mid-major NCAA Division I schools by collegeswimming.com. The Pioneers recently defeated Wyoming at the Denver Relays. The men won, 139-131, and the women won as well, 136-129. The men finished first in nine of 10 races against the Cowboys.

WOMEN PICKED SECOND IN MWC PRESEASON POLL, MEN PICKED FOURTH

Utah tied for second in the Mountain West Conference Coaches' Pre-season poll, the conference office announced.

The women were put in a second place tie with UNLV, but did get the only other first-place vote. BYU is the conference's preseason favorite, while Wyoming, Colorado State, TCU, San Diego State, New Mexico and Air Force fall below Utah. Utah finished third at the conference championships last year and has eight swimmers returning from last year to go along with the nation's 13th-ranked recruiting class.

The men were ranked above Air Force and TCU in the preseason poll. UNLV was picked to win the conference, followed by BYU and the Wyoming. The ranking reflects the off-season additions Utah has made and the growth the Utes showed at the end of last season.