Student-Athlete of the Week - November 24, 2008

Name: Heather Denman
Sport: Women's Swimming
Year: Freshman
Position: Fly, Back

Heather Denman has been named the Spartan Foundation Student Athlete of the Week for her performances for the women’s swimming team at the Nike Cup.

Denman led the way to a program-best second-place finish for the Spartans at the annual Nike Cup in Long Beach, Calif., totaling 954 points for runners-up honors behind BYU (1076). 

Denman earned UC Irvine/Nike Cup Most Outstanding Female Swimmer honors with three individual event wins and five total school records over the three-day event. She set four individual school standards and was part of one record medley relay. Denman posted the first three NCAA 'B' cut times of her Spartan career and for San Jose State this season.

 Her weekend began as a member of the school-record 400 medley relay that placed second in 3:48.80, almost a full second faster than the school's previous best (3:49.72). Denman's 'B' cut lead leg of 54.84, improved on her own school mark in the 100 back of 55.72, also a relay split, set at the WAC Shootout in Las Cruces, N.M., on October 11.

 Denman won both the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly events on Friday night, becoming the first Spartan swimmer to win an event at the Nike Cup, formerly known as the Speedo Cup, since Elin Carlsson took top honors in the 500 freestyle in 1997.

 Her time of 53.97 in the 100 fly is a consideration qualifier for the NCAA Championships and bested the previous school mark of 54.84. Denman timed 54.86 in the 100 back, just .02 seconds behind her own school mark, and another 'B' cut.

 On Saturday, Denman broke the San Jose State record in prelims of the 200 back, producing the fastest time of the morning of 2:01.71. Being held out of the 200 back final due to the meet's three-final limit for each individual, Denman instead won the 200 fly, timing a school-record 1:59.69 and just missing her fourth NCAA 'B' cut of the meet by .15 seconds.

 Denman also led off the second-place 200 medley relay on Friday night, which finished second in 1:44.52, second-fastest in program history.

Past 2008-09 Spartan Foundation Student-Athletes of the Week
August 25 - Emmy Belding, Women's Soccer
September 2 - Kyle Reed, Football
September 8 - Emily Burke, Volleyball
September 15 - Erica Moston, Women's Golf
September 22 - Hiroki Akiyama, Men's Soccer
September 29 - Jared Strubeck, Football
October 6 - Kelly Crow, Volleyball
October 13 - Heather Denman, Women's Swimming
October 20 - Carl Ihenacho, Football
October 27 - Jay Myers, Men's Golf
November 3 - Jared Strubeck, Football
November 10 - Nick Cukar, Men's Soccer
November 17 - Ricky Dorrego, Men's Soccer
November 24 - Heather Denman, Women's Swimming