FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska women's swim team hits the pool for its final two regular-season dual meets this weekend when hosting Colorado Mesa at the Patty Center Pool. The first meet commences Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a Saturday matinee at 1 p.m. Admission is free both days.
“We're going to use these meets to set us up for conference as the focus is now on the conference championship,” head coach
Scott Lemley said. “We're going to be careful who we enter in events this weekend because there are pool and varsity records at stake that we've seen in earlier meets.
Last time out, the Nanooks, winners of three straight dual meets, downed the Mavericks 121-84 down in Flagstaff, Ariz., during the team's training at elevation. Alaska won all but one event en route to the win in the 50-meter pool, which was held at Northern Arizona University. Sophomore
Bente Heller and freshman
Gabi Summers led the team with two individual victories and one relay triumph.
Alaska, ranked 15th in the latest CollegeSwimming.com/CSCAA Coaches poll, has been setting new pool and varsity records in nearly each meet. Thus far, a total of eight pool records (four by UAF) and 10 varsity records (all UAF) have been reset in the record books.
“If people watch how I coach, I'm pretty cautious and I don't set our team up for false praise,” Lemley said. “I think that should be an indication how confident I am to be able to say openly and publicly that this is the best, young team in the country.”
Heller is responsible three of the five individual Alaska records in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles, all set at the Husky Invitational (Dec. 2-4). Sophomore
Ashley Crowe and freshman
Margot Adams have also set new records in the 1,650 free and the 100 butterfly, respectively.
As far as relays go, the 'Nooks have broken all five relay varsity records. Heller, Adams, Summers and freshman
Danielle Lyons hold the records in the 200, 400 and 800 free relays, while the tandem of Heller, Adams, Lyons and freshman
Genevieve Johnson set new marks in the 200 and 400 medley relays.
Lemley also believes more records could fall this weekend following a successful training session over winter break, when they trained at high elevation.
“We trained well at elevation and there's usually a long window within a couple weeks when you come down to sea level that you can expect to see the results of that training,” Lemley said. “My suspicion is we will swim fast and some records are at risk.”
Following this weekend's meets, the Nanooks will prepare for the 2012 Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference Championship, which will be held Feb. 8-11 at the Splash! La Miranda Regional Aquatic Center in La Miranda, Calif.
