NCAA Div. I: ASU Men and Women Down UNLV

TEMPE, Ariz. October 27. THE Arizona State men's and women's swimming and diving teams are 1-0 after defeating UNLV in their 2000-2001 season debuts at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe, Ariz., Friday.

On an abnormally stormy day in which lightning delayed the start of the meet, the Sun Devil men, paced by freshman Rich Jacobs and All-American seniors Marc Briggs and Scott Von Schoff, won by a final margin of 163-80. The Sun Devil women won 177-60, finishing first in all but two of the 13 events.
"I feel good that we didn't get struck by lightning," ASU head coach Michael Chasson joked afterward. "It's a good start for us and gives us a better feeling for where we're at right now. We have a really tough schedule and it only gets harder from here."

Von Schoff (Napa, Calif.) got his senior season under way with victories in the 100 (45.26) and 200 (1:38.53) yard freestyle events. Von Schoff also swam down the Rebels' Jacint Simon in the final leg of the 200 free relay to secure a Sun Devil win by less than three tenths of a second in 1:22.36. Meanwhile, Jacobs (Seattle, Wash.) made his collegiate debut with wins in the 200 individual medley (1:54.56) and 1000 free (9:36.08). Briggs (Madera, Calif.) was also a double-winner, sweeping the 1 and 3-meter dives with scores of 335.25 and 329.23, respectively.

For the women, junior All-American Sarah Baham (Arcadia, Calif.) won the 200 butterfly in 2:02.56 and finished runner-up in the 200 free in 1:53.81. Sophomore Claire Hedenskog (Lindome, Sweden) was a two-time winner, taking the 50 (24.13) and 100 (51.98) free crowns. Diver Natalie Burgess, a junior from Phoenix, Ariz., emerged victorious in her two events, edging teammate Trish Malatesta with scores of 262.73 and 267.68, respectively, in the 1 and 3-meter dives.

The Rebels' top performer of the day was junior Lorena Diaconescu. Diaconescu's wins in the 200 (1:50.93) and 500 (4:57.74) free races were the only wins for the UNLV women.

The next competition for the Sun Devil men and women will be November 10. The men hit the road to face UC Santa Barbara, while the women travel to face Pacific-10 Conference foe UCLA.

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