Cougars Face Wildcats in Home-Opener
THIS WEEK: The Washington State University swim team competes in its home opener at Gibb Pool Oct. 17…the Cougars will face Arizona in a dual meet at 5 p.m…the meet marks the Wildcats’ first appearance in Pullman in program history.
HEAD COACH TOM JAGER SAYS: “We are looking forward to the meet. It’s the first time Arizona will be up here. My buddy, Rick [DeMont], is the coach down there. I’m looking forward to seeing him and our Cougars are looking forward to seeing the Wildcats.”
LAST TIME AGAINST ARIZONA: The Cougars traveled to Tucson, Ariz., Oct. 26, 2012 to face the Wildcats for the first time in program history…WSU fell to Arizona, 119-75…sophomore Haley Anderson and freshman Loree Olson led the Cougars, tying as the top individual scorers for WSU…Anderson finished second in the 1000 freestyle and 500 freestyle with times of 10:41.42 and 5:12.90, respectively…Olson touched the wall in third place in the 200 back and 200 IM…she also tacked on a fourth-place finish in the 200 breaststroke.
THIS YEAR’S COUGARS: The Cougars’ 2014-15 team features 13 returning student-athletes…led by seniors Haley Anderson, Alison Mand, and Nicole Proulx…WSU welcomes six fresh faces to the team, including Anna Brolin, Hannah Bruggman, Jessica Marston, Monica McNamara, Rachel Thompson, and Talisa Wibmer.
WSU LAST SEASON: The Cougars finished 3-6 in dual meets last season in a conference boasting four teams in the top 10 at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships…WSU finished eighth at the Pac-12 Championships, edging out Oregon State…the 200 medley relay team of Emma Johansson, Frederikke Hall, Alison Mand, and Nicole Proulx broke the school record in a time of 1:39.45…at the Hawkeye Invitational, the relay team of Emma Johansson, Alison Mand, Haley Rose Love, and Anne Kenney placed second in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:31.66, besting a school record that had stood for nearly five years…12 cougars earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors…Cougars earned Team Scholar All-America status.
COACHING STAFF: Head coach Tom Jager enters his fourth year at Washington State after seven years coaching at Idaho…the Collinsville, Ill., native is a six-time NCAA Champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist…Jager is joined by assistant coach Adriana Quirke…Quirke assisted Jager during his final three seasons with the Vandals before joining Jager at the helm of Cougar swimming…WSU alumna Kelsey Bruggman rounds out the Cougar coaching staff in her first season as the coordinator of operations.