By Chris Gibson staff reporter For the first time since 1997, the men's and women's swim teams will compete for the Western Athletic Conference title together. The 2000 WAC Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships will be held this weekend at the Palo Alto College Natatorium in San Antonio. Along with TCU, the women's championship will consist of Fresno State, Hawaii, Rice, San Jose State and Southern Methodist. The Mustangs were last year's team champion, winning the meet by more than 400 points over second-place Brigham Young. TCU placed ninth, but head coach Richard Sybesma says the women are confident going into the meet. "This is the meet of the year for us and we are really looking forward to swimming well," Sybesma said. "SMU has a really dominant team again this year, but we set our goals on finishing in the top three and if everyone swims their best, we can do that." Sophomore Jamie MacCurdy leads the way for the Horned Frogs. MacCurdy holds two WAC top times this season and is ranked No. 13 in the nation in the 400-meter individual medley. MacCurdy is coming off an illness that caused her to miss a few weeks but said she is ready for the meet. "I'm feeling a lot better," MacCurdy said. "I've pretty much gotten all my strength back, and the extra week off really gave me a chance to rest. I'll be happy to just swim well, and I hope that (the illness) doesn't affect me too much." The men's field contains just three teams this season: Hawaii, SMU and TCU. SMU is the defending WAC champion but the men hope that they can challenge them for the top spot this year. Leading the way for the men are junior Ryan Mammarella, sophomore Scott Adkins and freshman Aaron Ewert. Ewert says that while their season record may not show it, they have been swimming well but that they are going to have to be at the top of their game this weekend. "For us to have a chance to win, some people are going to have to swim their lifetime best time," Ewert said. "Everyone has been training pretty hard, and the week off has given us a great chance to rest. If we swim the way we can, I think we can finish in the top two." Four individual champions from 1999 return to defend their WAC titles: Hawaii's Nick Folker in the 50-yard freestyle (19.91), SMU's Bart Wickardin the 400-yard individual medley (3:50.90), Steve Barnes in the 1650-yard freestyle (15:24.77) and Brandon Jernigan in the 100-yard butterfly (48.50). Folker recorded an NCAA automatic qualifying time in the 100 free early in the season, while several WAC swimmers have posted provisional qualifying marks for the NCAA national meet. The Frogs feel that they have as good as chance as any to win the meet. "We are pretty balanced as a team." Sybesma said. "We're going in a little weak in the sprint events but that really doesn't hurt us that much. If we swim well there is no reason why we shouldn't challenge for the win." After a few diving events on Thursday, the meet continues today with the 200-yard freestyle relay, the 500-yard freestyle, the 200-yard individual medley, the 50-yard freestyle and the 400-yard individual medley relay for both the men and women. The women will also compete in 3-meter diving. Finals will be held on Saturday.
Chris Gibson
By Chris Gibson staff reporter The 2000 Western Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held this weekend at the University of Houston's Yeoman Field House. TCU's men's and women's teams will be competing against Fresno State, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas El Paso and Tulsa. The TCU men finished second at last year's meet behind Brigham Young, but coaches and runners say that they are not going to be satisfied unless they come home with the title. "Winning the WAC Championship has been one of our goals since the beginning of the year," head coach Monte Stratton said. "I think everyone makes that goal at the beginning of the year, but we have an excellent chance. We're coming off our best meet to date (Tyson Invitational) and everyone is really running well. It would be good for us to come home with the win." This season's TCU squad is trying to do something no other Horned Frog track and field team has done: win a conference title. But TCU junior sprinter Kim Collins said the team is motivated about that chance. "Everyone is really excited about the meet," he said. "I think it is really the first time that TCU has gone into the meet with a good chance to win, and we would like to be the team that does that." And while the excitement of the WAC meet has the team talking about championships, Collins said they can't think about it too much. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves thinking about winning," he said. "We just need to concentrate on each event and make sure we run well. Winning the WAC has been one of our team goals all season, but if we are going to accomplish that we need to take it race by race." The Frogs come into the WAC Championship meet ranked ninth in the nation in the Trackwire 25 national poll. Stratton said that, as in previous years, their strongest events are the sprints, but they are also strong in the relays and field events. "We've got four or five guys who can really run, so we have a great shot in the 60-meter and the 200-meter," Stratton said. "But we also have a great high jumper, long jumper and triple jumper so don't count us out in the field events." TCU favorites include last year's 5,000 meter champion senior David Lagat, Collins and junior Darvis Patton in the 60-meter, Patton again in the 200-meter, junior Roy Williams in the 400-meter and the 1600-meter relay team. All have already attained automatic qualifying times for the NCAA Championships in March. Collins is unbeaten in this year's indoor season in the 60-meter, and his victory at the Tyson Invitational in early February earned him WAC athlete of the week honors. Stratton said that while the WAC meet is one of the most important of the year, his team is still looking at the big picture which is qualifying people to compete in the NCAA Nationals. "This is an important meet for us, and we look forward to running well," he said. "But in track the WAC Championship meet is really just another meet where we can qualify people for nationals. We've already had seven athletes qualify, and we are looking for two or three more this week." One of those athletes is senior sprinter Dywana Crudup. Crudup is the Frog's lone female athlete who has already qualified for the national meet. Her time of 54.32 seconds in the 400-meter at the Tyson Invitational not only qualified her for nationals, but also broke the previous school record, which she also held. Stratton said the women's team is struggling through some injuries right now, and winning will be tough. But he said he hopes that the distance runners, led by sophomore Glady's Keitany and Crudup, can pull the women through. Stratton also said they are looking forward to getting everyone healthy for the upcoming outdoor season. The WAC Chamionships continue in Houston through Saturday.
Chris Gibson
By Danny Horne staff reporter Since 1991, the Lady Frogs basketball team has lost 18 straight games to Southern Methodist, but at this point in the season, it is not about streaks for TCU. "We have to throw all that away and put it behind us," senior guard Diamond Jackson said. "The team is playing for the here and now, not for a streak. We are focusing on our game going into the tournament." The Lady Frogs (15-12, 6-6 Western Athletic Conference) take a three-game winning streak into Sunday's afternoon matchup with SMU who has won 14 of their last 15. TCU entered the Jan. 29 meeting against SMU, an 82-63 Lady Frogs loss, having lost four of six games. "There is no doubt that we are playing better basketball right now than we were then," Jackson said. "We have been adjusting to a new system all season, but I think we all feel more comfortable with everything. We seem to be more confident with our roles and where to be." In the first meeting, SMU broke open a one-point half-time lead during a seven-minute spurt at the start of the second half in which TCU was outscored 20-6. SMU junior guard D-dra Rucker and senior forward Karlin Kennedy combined to score 47 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. "We must force Rucker on the perimeter and make her work off the dribble," TCU head coach Jeff Mittie said. "With Kennedy we look to limit her open looks because she has a variety of ways to score." TCU sophomore guard Tricia Payne said they have a good idea as to what Rucker and Kennedy will do, it is just a matter of stopping them. "We have been playing better defensively lately because we are feeling more comfortable," Payne said. "So if we can keep an eye on (Rucker and Kennedy) and recognize where they will be on the court, that should help us control them." Not many have done a good job this season at stopping Rucker and Kennedy who both average 15.4 points a game. That is good enough for third overall in WAC scoring. SMU head coach Rhonda Rompola said junior guard Anika Calvert and senior guard Nici Johnson will need to play strong because they do not want to rely completely on Rucker and Kennedy. Calvert has been good for 9.7 points a game this season while Johnson has averaged 9.3. The Lady Frogs shot just 29 percent against SMU in the first game including 25 percent in the second half. The Lady Mustangs come in Sunday with the second-best defense in the WAC - allowing just 60 points a game. "We will need to handle their pressure better especially from the guards," Mittie said. "They forced us into a lot of tough shots before, so we have to make sure we get better shots." Jackson said that rebounding is always an important part of the Lady Frogs' game. "If we can control the boards, we will be able to get into our transition game easier, which should create some better looks for us," Jackson said. Payne said a win against SMU (17-6, 10-1 WAC) would be the biggest boost for the team's confidence going into the WAC Tournament. "SMU is the number one team in the conference right now, so beating them would give us great momentum," Payne said. "We are playing with a lot of confidence right now anyway, but a win on Sunday would be huge." At tip-off on Sunday, the Lady Frogs will have gone a week without playing a game, but Mittie said the lay-off should have no major effects. "If anything it could help because it gives us a chance to get some players rested," Mittie said. "The players responded well from the long lay-off during Christmas, so I do not expect anything to be different." Jackson added that the week off has given the team good time to concentrate on just SMU. The final home game of the season for the Lady Frogs is scheduled to be shown on Fox Sports Net which Payne said might cause some extra nervousness. "I think it will be more exciting than anything," Payne said. "It will give people a chance to see who we are. Right now TCU is relatively unknown. If we can go out and beat SMU on (television), people will have to take notice." The game is set to tip off on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
Danny Horne |
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