THIS WEEK: The Washington State University swim team travels to Corvallis, Ore., to face Oregon State at the Osborn Aquatic Center Friday, Jan. 23…the Cougars will face the Beavers in a dual meet at 5 p.m…WSU has won two-straight duals against OSU and holds a 31-19 all-time advantage over the Beavers.
HEAD COACH TOM JAGER SAYS: “Our focus is finishing out the season strong – finishing what we started. Oregon State always swims well at home. It’s always a difficult trip for us, and Larry is a great coach. This will be a really good meet and a really competitive meet. If we can get out with a win, we will be happy.”
LAST TIME AGAINST THE BEAVERS: The Cougars welcomed Oregon State to Gibb Pool, Jan. 24, 2014, for their final home meet of the season…WSU won seven of 14 events, defeating OSU, 148-114…senior Emma Johansson and junior Nicole Proulx contributed 18 points each to the Cougars’ total…Johansson led the 200 medley relay to a first-place finish before taking the top spot in the 100 back and 100 fly…Proulx added a first-place finish in the 200 free…the Cougars swept the top three spots in the 50 free.
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.
