Feb. 21, 2011
Mountain West Championship Central
Lobo Swimming & Diving – At the Mountain West Championships
Where: OKCCC Aquatic Center, Oklahoma City
When: Wednesday thru Saturday, 10 a.m. starts each day
GoLobos.com: Complete Results
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The pressure definitely is off one member of the New Mexico swimming and diving team as it heads to the Mountain West Conference Championships in Oklahoma City that run Wednesday through Saturday.
Lobo junior Aubrey Bush would love to defend the 2010 MWC crown she earned on the platform and finish higher than her third-place finish off the 3-meter board a year ago.
However, Bush already has posted NCAA zone-qualifying scores off the 3-meter board and the 1-meter springboard. She is NCAA bound.
Bush will be one of the divers to beat at the Oklahoma City Community College Aquatic Center. She was named Mountain West Diver of The Week twice during the season.
If Bush performs well in Oklahoma City, she could be moving on to the NCAA Zone competition with a couple of MWC titles.
“Aubrey has had a fantastic year already,” said Abel Sanchez, UNM’s diving coach. “She has performed at a high level at big meets before, so she should be relaxed and ready for the Mountain West championships.”
All of Lobo coach Tracy Ljone’s Lobos should be loose and relaxed for this meet. The MWC Championships are the time of the year when swimmers back off their rigorous workouts in order to be fresh and rested for the conference challenge.
“It’s a neat time for swimmers,” said Ljone. “We have tapered back our workouts and everyone is rested and excited about the competition. It’s a great atmosphere to compete in because all the conference schools are there, everybody knows everybody, and there will be a couple thousand fans watching us.”
The MWC meet is always bittersweet for the Lobo swimmers and their coach. It’s the last time the Lobos gather as a complete team in a competitive environment. It’s also the last swim for three Lobos seniors – Nanette Wittenberg, Sally Bellinger and Jennifer Burgess – unless they advance to NCAA swims.
The Lobos’ first goal at the MWC swim is to advance as many swimmers as possible to the finals. The Lobos have a good shot in the 500-yard freestyle behind Monica Dudley and Burgess. UNM’s Alyssa Keill has a solid time in the 400-yard IM and Jorgi Hobson is competitive in the 100-yard butterfly.
Heidi Zeiger has a shot in the 200-yard freestyle. UNM’s Ashley Blanchette, Hayley Martin, Nicole Peirce and Tesse Maciejko are solid in the 100-yard breaststroke. Stelicia Flroes has the best shot for UNM in the 100-yard backstroke. The trio of Monica Dudley, Burgess and Maria Dudley should be competitive in the 1,650 freestyle. Monica Dudley has a shot at the top five in that race.
Flores has UNM’s top time in the 200-yard backstroke. Martin, Blanchette and Lindsey Morris are the Lobos’ top swimmer in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Ljone said another goal at the MWC Championships is for each swimmer to clock their season’s best time. If that time meets NCAA standards, a few Lobos will get to swim another day.
Each Lobo swimmer can compete in three individual races and four relays. The MWC Championships will hold a practice session on Tuesday with the real action running Wednesday thru Saturday with events beginning at 10 a.m. each day.