Jan. 6, 2007
TEMPE, Ariz. -
's No. 23 women's swimming team picked up its first Pacific-10 Conference victory in impressive fashion Saturday, defeating the visiting Oregon State Beavers 180-82 at ASU's Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex.
Led by stalwarts junior Caitlin Andrew and sophomore Jen Beckberger, as well as contributions from senior and junior Sarah Fischer, the Sun Devils earned first-place finishes in all but two events, including victories in both relays.
Andrew earned top finishes in the 100 back (56.31) and 100 fly (54.50), while Beckberger chipped in a pair of victories, swimming a time of 1:51.09 in the 200 free and recorded a finish of 51.51 in the 100 free.
Creek recorded her finest afternoon of the 2006-07 season, earning multiple first-place finishes for the first meet of the year. The native took top billing in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, clocking a 1:04.72 in the 100 and 2:17.72 in the 200.
For the third time this season, Fischer earned a pair of individual victories, coming Saturday in the 500 free (4:59.35) and 1000 free (10:10.90).
Freshman sprint freestyle swimmer Jess Perazzo achieved her first top finish of her young ASU career, topping the field in the 50 free, touching in 24.01.
Junior Lindsey Brown added to ASU's total with scoring finishes in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events. Senior Abra Armour added second and third-place finishes in the 50 and 100 free, respectively, allowing the Sun Devils to sweep both events. Sophomore Rikka Brunner took second in the 200 back and also scored in the 100 back, swimming her best time of the year in that event. Junior Ellis Schieman contributed scoring finishes in the 500 and 1000 free.
Sophomore Amy Konowalik scored in three events, including the 100 and 200 breast, and the 400 IM. The 400 IM saw ASU place three of the top four finishers, all touching within .07 seconds of one another, led by Fischer's second-place time.
Senior Carissa Abe also added a second-place finish in the 100 back, while freshman Sara McDaniel scored in the 100 breast.
Helping expand ASU's lead over the Beavers were the scoring efforts of freshman Ashton Aubry and seniors Jill Kripps and Amanda Gillespie in the 200 fly, junior Emlynn Tursick and freshman Mirela Kardasevic in the 200 back, junior Lindsey Russenberger in the 200 breast. Aubry and Kripps also scored in the 100 fly, both recording their best times of the year, as did freshman Jenna Gamble in the 500 free.
The Sun Devil women will ride the momentum of the team's first Pac-10 win into next weekend, when ASU faces highly-ranked and Stanford on Friday and Saturday, respectively.