TOLEDO, OH - An early-season litmus test awaits the University of Toledo swimming and diving program as the Rockets welcome two perennial MAC contenders to the Student Rec Center this weekend to wrap up the fall dual meet schedule.

Since the MAC Championships began in 1981, Miami (16 titles) and Ohio (10) have won all but three titles. Toledo, Miami and Ohio are also the lone three unbeaten teams in MAC action this fall.

"Those two have been the standard-bearers in the MAC," said head coach Lars Jorgensen. "We're trying to get up to their level. But we're ready to compete against the two best teams on back-to-back days. It should be an exciting weekend."

The Rockets put together two strong performances last weekend in defeating Ball State in a dual meet, then taking down Eastern Michigan and UW-Milwaukee in a tri-meet. Highlighting the effort was sophomore Laura Lindsay, who continues to shine for the Rockets this fall. She earned two more wins in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and also swam on the champion 400 medley relay team Saturday.

Junior co-captain Jacy Dyer has been strong all season as well, winning the 200 IM and 500 free on Friday and the 1650 free on Saturday. Freshman Carly Harter has made an impact in her first season as she won the 200 free and 200 IM on Saturday in addition to swimming on the 400 medley relay.

"This is a very tough part of our schedule, with four meets over the course of eight days," Jorgensen said. "Our challenge is to keep our intensity up against stiff competition."

Miami has 20 returnees from its championship team from a year ago, including NCAA qualifier Kelsey Vehr in the breaststroke, Allison Way (butterfly), Megan Brunn (breaststroke), Chelsey Bruington (freestyle) and Sarah Radke (freestyle).

The Bobcats also have plenty of returners, including Chelsea Bower (NCAA qualifier in 50 free), Rachel Heim (MAC Champion in 100 Fly and 100 Back) and Stacey Huber (MAC Champion in 1650 free).

When Last We Met...Miami (11/07/08)
Jacy Dyer took the top spot in the 1650 freestyle (17:05.05) and second in the 500 freestyle (5:02.92), but the Rockets fell 196-102 in Oxford. Caitlin Cormack's first-place time came in the 200 butterfly (2:05.65) when she touched the wall almost five seconds faster than the second-place swimmer. Cormack also finished second in the 1650 freestyle (17:13.78).

Series History (Since 1999)

Date             Opponent                         Result
11/07/08       at Miami                             L, 196-102
11/09/07       vs. Miami                            W, 170-130
01/12/07       at Miami                             L, 189-107
01/21/06       vs. Miami                            L, 176-124
01/21/05       vs. Miami                            L, 188-110
01/23/04       at Miami                             L, 197-98
11/09/02       at Miami                             L, 188-112
01/26/02       vs. Miami                            L, 164-136
01/20/01       vs. Miami (at Akron)            L, 171-129
01/22/00       at Miami                             L, 199-98
01/29/99       vs. Miami                            L, 162-80

When Last We Met...Ohio (11/08/08)
Jacy Dyer continued her streak of high performance for the Rockets as the sophomore had first-place finishes in the 500 and 1000 freestyle in a 170-122 loss in Athens. Amanda Breen added a first-place finish to the Rocket total in the 200 breaststroke with her time of 2:22.11.

Series History (Since 2003)

Date             Opponent                         Result
11/8/08         at Ohio                               L, 170-122
11/10/07       vs. Ohio                              W, 184-116
10/28/06       vs. Ohio                              L, 151-149
10/29/05       at Ohio                               T, 149-149
11/06/04       vs. Ohio                              W, 128-115
11/01/03       at Ohio                               L, 174-126

Rockets Nearly Pure in Michigan
Since the 2004-05 season, the Rockets have been near-perfect in head-to-head meets in the state of Michigan. Toledo has gone 8-2 in meets during that time while also earning a pair of third-place finishes at the Eastern Michigan Invitational in 2008 and 2009.

No Place Like Home
The Rockets sported a 5-1 record at home last season, with the only loss coming against No. 14 Michigan. In the last two seasons, UT is 11-1 in home meets, and the Rockets have won 13 of their last 14 home meets overall.

"In a dual-meet environment it's a definite advantage to be at home, and that's something our girls get fired up about," head coach Lars Jorgensen said.

Quick Cusack
The individual event titles for Ashley Cusack in the 100 and 200 back against Illinois and Oakland were the first of her collegiate career. Her performance earned her MAC Swimmer of the Week honors on Oct. 21, the first of her career.

Head Coach Lars Jorgensen
Lars Jorgensen enters his sixth season at the helm of the Rockets swimming and diving program.

Under his leadership, the Rockets have improved from eighth in the conference to second- and third-place finishes the past two seasons. Jorgensen has helped guide swimmers to 16 conference championships in only five years, which is 14 more than the school's total before his arrival.

Additionally, the Rockets have had 14 All-MAC swimmers (11 first team) and 12 All-MAC academic team selections during Jorgensen's tenure. His overall dual-meet record is an impressive 40-18-1 in five seasons, and 24 school records have been established in this short time. Jorgensen was honored as the 2006-07 MAC Coach of the Year.

Oh Captain My Captain
The three co-captains for this season are senior Katie White and juniors Jacy Dyer and Amanda Thompson. In addition to her role as captain, Thompson will also blog about the season, which can be read on www.utrockets.com.       

Lapping the Competition
Toledo's six wins this fall have come by an average of 60.8 points. The margins of victories have been by 68, 58, 60, 12, 35 and 132 points.

Dual in the Pool
Toledo has won nine of its past ten dual meets, with the only setback coming against Michigan earlier this fall. The Rockets defeated Bowling Green, Buffalo and Akron in their final three duals last year.

UT has also enjoyed success in MAC dual meets the past few seasons. Since the 2007-08 season, the Rockets have gone 12-2 against MAC foes in dual meets, with the lone defeats coming against Miami and Ohio last year.

Perfect 8
Laura Lindsay has competed four times in both the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke and has walked away victoriously each time. Her fastest time in the 100 came in the tri-meet against Michigan and Toronto (1:03.90), and her fastest time in the 200 came in the same meet (2:19.51). Lindsay also competed on the first-place 400 medley relay team at Eastern Michigan.

Can-Do Cormack
So far, Caitlin Cormack has proven to be the team's most versatile swimmer. She has recorded top-five finishes in six different events, the most on the team. Cormack has competed in the 200 breast, 200 fly, 500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free and 200 IM.

Kelsey Atchison, Jacy Dyer, Carly Harter and Laura Heckroth have all pulled the same feat in five different events.

29 and Counting...
Through the first four meets, 10 different Rockets have combined to win 29 individual event titles. Laura Lindsay leads the way with eight wins. She is followed by Ashley Cusack (four wins), Jacy Dyer (four), Carly Harter (three), Kelsey Atchison (two), Laura Heckroth (two), Amanda Thompson (two), Katie White (two), Kenzie Bagan (one) and Louise Smyth (one).

Additionally, Rocket relay teams have scored four victories this season - twice in the 200 IM, once in the 400 IM, and once in the 200 free.

Contact: Scott Miles
scott.miles@utoledo.edu