Junior Hayden Thomas gasps for air during his distance freestyle heat on Nov. 5, 2011, against Wisconsin. The swim and dive team took a breather during its break but is now focusing on its Jan. 11 meet versus BYU. (Photo by Beth Easterbrook)A rejuvenated ASU swim and dive program is ready to get back in the water when it welcomes Brigham Young University to Tempe on Friday.
This will be the first competition for the Sun Devils since Dec. 16, when they split a dual meet against Utah.
The athletes got a brief hiatus to spend the holidays with their families, but were right back in the pool to train for the second half of the season shortly after.
Before the break, swim coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker acknowledged that the time with families would be great for healing injuries and rest. However, she also stressed the fact that the following two weeks is when swimmers should get better.
“We had a pretty productive couple of weeks,” Tierney-Walker said. “All of our freshman did a great job over the break. You know a lot of that is taking school away so they get more rest and a little bit more focus, so I’m excited to see how all of our newcomers do out of the break.”
After two weeks of solid training, the swimmers will finally get back to competition in what is shaping up to be a tough task against the Cougars.
“You know, it should be a good contest,” Tierney-Walker said. “It’s always interesting to see how we come out of Christmas training. I think we are in good condition, and it’s exciting to see it applied into racing now."
BYU is also coming off its own winter training camp and have yet to win a head-to-head match up this season.
Tierney-Walker said they will still be a good challenge for ASU.
“BYU has a pretty strong men’s team, so it should be a back and forth type of meet," Tierney-Walker said.
Divers Return to Action
Senior Harrison Jones and his teammates look to get back on track after several weeks of training over the break.
Dive coach Mark Bradshaw said he’s excited to see his team back in collegiate competition after all of the training over the break.
After the rest of the team finishes up Friday against BYU, Bradshaw is taking senior Sydney Czaus to the Bruin Diving Invitational in Los Angeles to compete.
“(Czaus) is just going on the platform on Sunday,” Bradshaw said. “It’s been a slow process getting back from her injury, so she’s starting to feel much better, and she hasn’t had too many opportunities to compete, especially on platform.”
The other divers aren’t going, because it would be a lot of travel and competing in one weekend, Bradshaw said.
McCormick Update
Junior diver Riley McCormick’s thumb surgery was successful over winter break. He is back practicing with the team, though he is taking it easy.
As to when he’d be able to compete again, Bradshaw said it’s a matter of how long the surgery rehab takes.
Reach the reporter at ross.dunham@asu.edu
