Matt Weir / The Collegian
‘Dogs lose to San Jose State at home
On a soggy Saturday afternoon the Fresno State swimming and diving team concluded its regular season dual meet against San Jose State by honoring three athletes in the program’s second annual senior night.
Marry Tess Taylor, Rebecca Strmiska and Blair Hopkins completed their regular season careers in Bulldog uniforms, a feat that left head coach Jeanne Fleck with a bittersweet feeling following the meet.
“You know, it’s sad because they only got two years to swim for us because we just started the program,” Fleck said. “But they have really helped build the foundations of the future. I am so proud of them, with their attitudes, their scholastics and everything on top of their swimming and diving.”
Although Fresno State lost the meet 177-122, the first home defeat of the season, the ‘Dogs left no doubt about their season-long improvement.
Earlier this season, San Jose State ran away from the Bulldogs in the first day of the WAC Shootout, winning handedly 176-66. Although Fresno State’s aspirations at revenge fell short Saturday, Fleck’s young team completed the season with plenty of promise for the future.
“I’m just really, really excited,” Fleck said. “I think they’re young but they’re learning every meet. Half of my team is freshmen, so they are just learning how to compete and learning how to race.”
Sophomore Heidi Gjoen swam to two first-place finishes out of the four she competed in, adding another strong performance to her already spectacular season.
In all, Fresno State took home seven first-place finishes in the 16 events. The dual meet left Fleck excited for her team’s opportunities at the WAC Championships in San Antonio, Texas, Gjoen in particular.
“She [Gjoen] did awesome,” Fleck said. “She’s just really building, and she’s going to have a great WAC Championship. She’s just getting better and better. She’s learning how to race and learning how to be a top competitor.”
Fresno State’s Dani Yoho, a freshman, also had another strong outing, winning the 50-yard freestyle, placing second in both the 200-medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay, and taking fourth in the 100-yard freestyle event.
In the diving portion, Fresno State closed the regular season in stellar fashion. Freshman Stacey Luke set career best scores of 265.87 in the 1-meter dive and 279.07 in the 3-meter dive. Luke’s mark in the 1-meter dive made her the first Fresno State swimming and diving athlete to qualify for the NCAA Zones meet, beginning on March 12.
Strmiska, one of the three honored on senior night, also posted her career best in the 1000 freestyle, coming in with a time of 11:25.38, good enough for fourth place.
The trend of career best times is a trend Fleck hopes to see come Feb. 24 in the WAC Championships.
“I just want them to all do their lifetime best times,” Fleck said. “If we could move up it would be great and I think we have the capabilities of doing that. But our goal is just to get faster and faster.”