Student-Athlete of the Week - October 13, 2008

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

Heather Denman has been named the Spartan Foundation Student-Athlete of the Week for her performances at the inaugural Western Athletic Conference Shootout last weekend.

In just her second collegiate competition, she led the Spartans to a perfect 5-0 sweep at the WAC Shootout in Las Cruces, N.M. San Jose State was the only team of seven to go undefeated, a feat that included the first dual win over two-time defending conference champion Nevada in 23 years.

Denman's Saturday afternoon began in record-setting fashion, as her 100-yard backstroke leg of the Spartans' 'A' 400 medley relay timed a program-best 55.72. The mark, which staked San Jose State to almost a three-second lead over the field, was .06 seconds faster than former Spartan standout Ashley Vrieze's 55.78 from the 2007 WAC Championship. The foursome went 3:54.76 to top New Mexico State and Northern Arizona, and finish second overall out of 14 entries behind only Nevada's 'A' relay.

Denman's first individual appearance of the meet came in the 200 fly. In her first collegiate butterfly race, the Maryland native went 2:07.10 to place second overall among 23 competitors. Her mark already ranks ninth on the all-time San Jose State chart.

Denman closed out her afternoon with a triple-win in the 200 backstroke with a season-best time of 2:04.52, which moved her up from sixth to fourth on the all-time Spartan list. The mark was the fastest overall among 26 swimmers in the event.

For the weekend, Denman collected five individual wins, two relay wins and a school record. Her 100 back time is almost three full seconds faster than anybody else in the WAC, and her 200 back time is over three seconds faster than the rest of the conference.

San Jose State is now 5-1 on the year, with the only loss coming in its season opener at powerhouse Stanford. The Spartans compete this Saturday at UC Santa Cruz and face the Banana Slugs and Fresno State at noon.

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