Conference USA Swimming and Diving Notebook

IRVING, TEXAS (October 28, 2008) Led by SMU, who hosted a dual meet against Pac-10 opponent Arizona State, four Conference USA swimming and diving teams saw action in the water over the weekend. SMU defeated Arizona State, 119-78, before competing in the two-day SMU Classic where they tied for second with North Carolina, totaling 301 points. Marshall improved to 3-2 on the season after defeating Youngstown State, while Rice took part in a hard-fought battle but fell to Oregon State, 181-136. Houston was the only C-USA team who didn’t compete, but will travel to Michigan this weekend to take on Michigan State and Oakland in back-to-back duals.

All-American Candace Blackman of SMU and freshman Katie Yamamoto of East Carolina have been named Conference USA Swimmer and Diver of the week for the period ending Oct. 27. Blackman took part in the SMU Women’s Swimming Classic and collected a total of seven first-place accolades, including a new meet and pool record in the 200-free relay that was also good for an NCAA qualifying time. Yamamoto posted her top one-meter and three-meter scores of the season against Georgetown on Friday to win both events and then won the three-meter dive at Towson on Saturday.

SWIMMER OF THE WEEK

CANDACE BLACKMAN – SMU
Sr., Dallas, Texas

Blackman took part in SMU’s Women’s Swimming Classic and also participated in a dual meet against Arizona State. Against the Sun Devils, Blackman took three first-place honors. She helped the 400-free relay team touch the wall first in 3:24.14 and also took individual wins in the 100-free (50.65) and 200-free (1:48.78). During the two-day SMU classic, Blackman competed on three of SMU’s relay teams and helped two of them to first-place finishes. In the 800-free relay, SMU pulled off the win, with Blackman edging out USC for the title, touching the wall in 7:21.08. The All-American swimmer also took first in the 200-free relay that set new meet and pool records and also achieved an NCAA qualifying time by finishing in 1:47.83. Blackman’s last relay of the day was in the 400-free relay (3:22.79) that took second-place to a USC team that broke meet and pool records. Blackman finished the SMU Classic with a pair of individual first-place honors including a win in the 50-free (23.31) and 100-free (50.26). This is Blackman’s second career weekly honor and first of the 2008-09 season.

DIVER OF THE WEEK

KATIE YAMAMOTO - EAST CAROLINA
Fr., Toronto, Canada

Yamamoto posted her top one-meter and three-meter scores of the season against Georgetown on Friday. Yamamoto scored a 249.75 in the one-meter dive and then notched a 261.82 in the three-meter to win both events against the Hoyas. She followed that performance with a 246.83 in the three-meter dive against Towson to win the event. This is Yamamoto’s first weekly honor.

OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

AMANDA DUNCAN - East Carolina

Duncan recorded a pair of first-place finishes in the 100-yard butterfly in dual meets against Georgetown and Towson. The victories pushed her record to 4-0 in dual meet competition in the 100-yard butterfly this season. Against the Hoyas, Duncan set three pool records including an individual record in the 100-yard butterfly (56.62). She also set records as a member of both the 200 medley (1:50.04) and 200 freestyle relay teams (1:38.11).

KRISTIN WHEATLEY - Marshall

Wheatley won the 200 IM in a time of 2:15.46 and finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a 2:31.58.

SIOBHAN SCHUURMAN - Marshall

Schuurman took first-place in the three-meter and one-meter diving events with scores of 243.38 and 244.95 respectively.

CAITLIN WARNER - Rice

Warner swept both distance races in the Owl’s two-day double-dual meet against Oregon State. Warner won the 1,000-freestlye with a season-best time of 10:23.3, then swam a 5:06.12 to win the 500-free.