2000-2001 Women's Swimming and Diving Summary

With a blend of youth and experience, the 2000-2001 women's swimming and diving team won the Mountain West Conference Championship for the second year in a row, finishing with a 14-4 dual meet record.

The team kicked off its season against rival Utah on Oct. 27, winning 8-of-13 events to beat the Utes 137-106. Sophomore Heidi Lietz and freshman high school All-American Tamber Covington led the way for the Cougars. Covington won both the 200 individual medley and the 200 breaststroke in her first-ever collegiate meet, setting a new pool and school-altitude record in the breaststroke. Lietz won the 50 and 100 freestyle while also swimming on the first-place 400-medley relay team. Sophomore diver Kelli Einfeldt won the both the one-meter and three-meter springboard events and was subsequently named the MWC Diver of the Week.

The following weekend at the Big West Shootout, the Cougars beat four different teams en route to a 4-2 weekend record. Lietz and Covington once again led BYU. Lietz won both the 100 free and the 50 free two times while Covington won the 100 breast and the 200 breast twice during the two-day event. The Cougars also swept the top two spots in the 400-free relay. Freshman Rachelle Routsong won the one-meter board and sophomore Tessa Clark won the three-meter event. Covington was named the MWC Swimmer of the Week for her performance at the Shootout.

At a four-way dual meet in Albuquerque, N.M., BYU defeated Northern Arizona, Houston and host New Mexico to collect three wins. Lietz continued her success, winning the 50 free and the 100 fly while also swimming on the first-place 200-medley relay team. Sophomore Ashlee Rumfallo won the 100 free and swam on the winning 200-free relay team. Senior All-American Jennifer Tasker finished first in the 100 breast and also swam on the first-place 200-medley relay team. Einfeldt again won both the one-meter and the three-meter springboard events.

The following day, the Cougars won the Lobo Invitational by 235 points. Lietz had a spectacular weekend, winning the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free and the 100 butterfly, while also helping the 200-free, 200-medley and 400-free relay teams to first-place finishes. Rumfallo won the 400 IM and swam on the winning 200-free and 400-free relay teams. At the other end of the pool, senior Anna Tutunnikova won the three-meter springboard event. Lietz was honored as the MWC Swimmer of the Week for her performance at the four-way dual meet and the Lobo Invitational.

At the USC Diving Invitational, Einfeldt finished in seventh place and sophomore Aubrie Cropper placed eighth in the one-meter event. Einfeldt then finished fourth and Cropper 14th on the three-meter board.

UNLV came to Provo and defeated the Cougars by a narrow 130-113 score. Lietz won the 50 free while freshman Amy McClellan led BYU to a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 back. Covington also led the Cougars to a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 breaststroke. Einfeldt won the three-meter springboard and Clark finished first on the one-meter board.

Competing in the annual Speedo Cup, BYU finished in seventh place behind No. 8 USC. Lietz finished sixth in the 50 free, Tasker finished fifth in the 100 breast and Covington swam to a fifth-place finish in the 200 breast. The Cougars also benefited from fifth-place finishes by the 200-free, 200-medley and 400-medley relay teams.

At the BYU Diving Invitational, Einfeldt finished second on the one-meter board and third in the three-meter event to earn her second MWC Diver of the Week Award.

BYU started off the new year with a 131-108 victory over PAC-10 opponent Washington on Jan. 6. First-place finishers included Lietz in the 50 free, freshman Codi Jensen in the 1000 free and McClellan in the 200 back. The 200-medley relay team of senior Jennifer Teerlink, Lietz, Tasker and freshman Nikki Tadlock was also victorious. Einfeldt swept both the one-meter and the three-meter diving events to earn her third MWC Diver of the Week award.

Against Utah, the Cougars won only 6-of-13 events but beat the Utes by a 139-102 margin to improve to 9-3 on the season. Sophomore Amanda Grant finished first in the 200 free and second in the 100 breaststroke. Other first-place finishers included Covington in the 400 IM, senior Melissa Thompson in the 100 back and Tasker in the 100 breaststroke. The 200-medley relay team also swam to a first-place finish. Tutunnikova won the one-meter springboard event.

Einfeldt won the one-meter diving event on consecutive days at the Arizona Invitational while the remainder of the team was competing at home.

BYU won 10-of-13 events on its way to a 141-86 victory over conference opponent Air Force. Jensen swam season-best times en route to winning both the 500 and 1000 free. Freshman Monica Ferrell won the 200 free, Lietz the 50 free, Rumfallo the 200 IM, Amy Thompson the 100 free and Melissa Thompson the 200 back. The 400-medley relay team also swam to a first-place finish. Tutunnikova swept both the one- and three-meter springboard events against the Falcons.

Against Wyoming the Cougars won 8-of-13 events en route to a comfortable 141-102 win. Lietz was victorious in the 50 free while Covington won the 400 IM and Rumfallo the 100 back. Tasker won the 100 breast while both the 200-medley and 200-free relay teams finished in first-place. Tutunnikova swept the diving events for the second consecutive day, winning both the one-meter and three-meter events. For their respective performances against Utah, Air Force and Wyoming, Melissa Thompson and Tutunnikova were named the MWC Swimmer and Diver of the Week.

While the men prepared for the MWC Championships, the women's team headed to Colorado for two meets. BYU lost a tough battle to Colorado State, 145-98, before defeating New Mexico State and the University of Denver the following day in a three-way meet. Against Colorado State, the Cougars won only five events. Winners included Lietz in the 500 free, Ferrell in the 200 fly and Grant in the 200 breast. For the third consecutive meet, Tutunnikova won both the one- and three-meter springboard events. First-place finishers in the three-way meet included Teerlink in the 1000 free, Grant in the 400 IM and Ferrell in the 500 free. The 200-medley relay team also finished in first place. Einfeldt won both the one-meter and three-meter boards.

BYU went to the MWC Championships as the defending champions and led the entire way en route to a dominating performance, winning by 279 points to repeat as conference champions. The 200-medley relay team of Rumfallo, Tasker, Lietz and Tadlock finished first and set a new BYU record with a time of 1:42.53. On the second day, the 400-medley relay team of Rumfallo, Takser, Lietz and Amy Thompson finished first with a time of 3:46.09, a new conference, meet and BYU record. Rumfallo also finished first in the 200 IM, setting a new meet and conference record while Tutunnikova won the three-meter springboard event. BYU increased its lead while Tasker won the only event of the day for the Cougars, the 100 breaststroke, setting a new conference and school record. Covington was the lone Cougar winner on the final day of competition; winning the 200 breaststroke and setting a new meet record, as BYU dominated the field en route to its second consecutive MWC title. Coach Stan Crump was honored as the MWC Women's Coach of the Year.

A month later, the Cougars were represented by Tasker, Covington and Tutunnikova at the 2001 NCAA Championships but failed to score any points. Tasker could not repeat her All-America performance of the previous year, finishing in 25th-place in the 100 breaststroke. Covington finished 28th in the 100 breast while Tutunnikova finished 24th on the three-meter board and 27th on the one-meter board the previous day.

All in all, the BYU women's swimming and diving team finished the season with over 80 regular season event wins, five conference championships and seven MWC Swimmer/Diver of the Week honors.