Valerie Carter (1984-87), a 2006 NAU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, didn’t know it but, right after the ball dropped to start 2006, the ball started rolling on her induction. Keeping it a complete secret, Joe Carter contacted the NAU Athletic Media Relations office in early January to inquire about nominating his wife for the honor, and from there, Carter’s numerous accomplishments in diving at NAU began to surface. Carter (formerly Simmons) qualified for the NCAA Championships twice, becoming the first athlete in the program to ever qualify, and also became the school record-holder in both the one and three-meter events as well as the Pac-West Conference champion in both events as a junior. Carter was the team co-cap- tain as a senior, all-academic Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference honoree and was twice named the team’s most outstanding diver. Carter didn’t just receive a degree, pack up and leave. She has made Flagstaff her home, and NAU her career. She has four different degrees from the university in physical therapy including an advanced master’s and a doctorate. Carter currently works as an associate professor in the Physical Therapy Department, and also owns and operates Carter Rehabilitation in town along with her husband. Valerie Carter April Diez-Walker (1992-96), a first-ballot inductee into the NAU Athletics Hall of Fame, was the first female swimmer to compete at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships and is the only swimming All-American in school history. Diez-Walker was a two-time NCAA Championships qualifier and still holds four individual school records - the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 1,000 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle - and was part of the record-setting 800 freestyle relay team. A 1994 NCAA All-American in the 1,650-yard freestyle, she finished sixth overall at the NCAA meet and placed ninth in the 500-yard freestyle, earning honorable-mention All-America honors. She was also a championship finalist at the 1993 World University Games in Buffalo, N.Y. Diez-Walker was also named the top female scholar-athlete in the nation following the 1993-94 academic year based on her athletic and academic accomplishments (a perfect 4.00 grade-point average). The former April Diez was named Female Swimmer of the Year following the 1995 Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships after winning the 1,650 free, 200 free, 500 free and 400 individual medley (setting an NAU record in the process). April Diez-Walker A native of Phoenix and an honors graduate of Xavier College Preparatory School, she earned her degree in sociology at NAU, completed law school at the University of California, Berkeley, and currently resides in Phoenix, Ariz. Pam Rogers, a 2007 NAU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, was the Head Coach for the swimming and diving program from A 2007 graduate of NAU, Alexis 1983-96, and also the first coach of the pro- Buckley was the first female swimmer in 12 gram. Rogers won five Pacific Collegiate years to participate in the NCAA Swimming Conference titles during her Championships when she qualified as a jun- tenure and was responsible for the addition ior in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of of the men’s program, which also won five 16:27.12, second only to All-American April conference titles. Diez’s time of 16:18.13. Rogers was the first woman in the Buckley was the first NAU swimmer to sport of swimming and diving to be the head earn a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) coach of a combined men’s and women’s title, garnering two of them since the Division I team. The team finished 29th at Lumberjacks joined the WAC in 2004-05. As the 1994 NCAA Championships behind All- a junior, Buckley won the 1,650 freestyle at American April Diez’s performance in the the WAC Championships and as a senior she Alexis Buckley 500 freestyle and the mile. Rogers coached Pam Rogers set a school-record time of 4:23.73 en route 39 women’s conference champions in indi- to winning her second title in the 400 indi- vidual events and 47 Golden Eagle Scholar vidual medley. Athletes. At the 2006 NCAA Championships, She was a four-time All-American, a Buckley placed 19th in the 1,650 freestyle two-time national champion and an alter- and 33rd in the prelims of the 500 freestyle. nate for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1976, and went on to coach ASU to two national and four conference titles. UUNNSSUURRPPAASSSSEEDD BBEEAAUUTTYY...... Surrounded by pines and aspens and sitting at the base of the 12,633-foot San Francisco Peaks, Flagstaff isis inin thethe middmiddlele ofof thethe CocCoconino National Forest, the larlargest contiguous stand of ponderosa pines in the world, at an elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level. Flagstaff is surrounded by incredible scenery, includ- inging thethe GrGrand Canyon National Park, Lake Powell, the Sedona red rocks, Monument Valley, Sunset Crater and Oak Creek Canyon. Flagstaff and northern Arizona offer a diverse land- scape, four distinctive seasons, unmatched beauty and an exciting array of recreational possibilitielities. SCHOOL OF ENGIINEERIING & TECHNOLOGY W.A. FRANKE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS THE SAN FRANCIISCO PEAKS OVERLOOKIING CAMPUS... ST UD EN T UN ION SOUTH CAMPUS NFL have trained in Flagstaff he pines of Flagstaff. Northern Arizona University has facilities that are utilized by some of the world’s best athletes. The Arizona Cardinals of the nearly every summer since they moved to Phoenix, and the Phoenix Suns ofThe the Wall NBA Aquatic have held Center, their homepreseason to the training NAU swimmingcamp among and t diving program, is a The weight room is considered world-class as one of 11 regional trainingprominent centers byresource USA Weightlifting. for clients of the Center, which have included several national teams from around the world, American gold-medal swimmers like Gary Hall Jr. and Anthony Ervin, as well as World and Olympic champion Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe and four-time Olympic gold medalist and Japanese swimmer Kosuke Katajima. Katajima has visited the Center for High Altitude Training numerous times in recent years, staying for three or more weeks at a time. After his most recent visit, he won gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breast- stroke. As Katajima said to Swimming Technique magazine, “Whenever I come here (to Flagstaff), I always improve my time.” Flagstaff works for an Olympic gold medal- ist; just imagine what it can do for you. Living and training in an environment such as Flagstaff, at an elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level, provides many benefits to athletes and coaches in pursuit of peak performances. Unlike the international teams which only come to Flagstaff for rela- tively short altitude training camps, the athletes at Northern Arizona University enjoy the benefits of long-term exposure to altitude. Although not researched in depth, Australian swimmers Michael Klim and Ian Thorpe anecdotal evidence suggests that the benefits of living andrs oftraining knowledge at a significant and continu- ele- with NAU Head Coach Andy Johns d to rest or ready to work” work has resulted in NAU vation result in long-term improvement of athletic performance. Crucial to the success of our athletes is an application of yea ning with a common goal of al learning from the best coaches in the world, who visit NAU regularly for altitude training cycles. The development of a “nee he challenge. Are you? baseline test set has helped fine-tune the science of swimming at NAU. Being smart about the timing, duration and intensity of swimmers going to the NCAA Championships in events ranging from the 50 freestyle to the mile. Smart, scientific, efficient trai improved performance over the long haul is challenging, but the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona University are primed to meet t AUSTRALIA—SWIMMING GERMANY—SWIMMING Reiko Nakamura Stephanie Rice Britta Steffan Bronze—Women's 200m Backstroke Gold—Women's 400m Individual Medley* Gold—Women's 100m Freestyle Gold—Women's 200m Individual Medley* Gold—Women's 50m Freestyle Junichi Miyashita Bronze—Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Eamon Sullivan ITALY—SWIMMING Silver—Men's 100M Freestyle Federica Pellegrini Hisayoshi Sato Silver—Men's 4x100m Medley Relay** Gold—Women's 200m Freestyle* Bronze—Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Bronze—Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay Alessia Filippi NORWAY—SWIMMING AUSTRIA—SWIMMING Silver—Women's 800m Freestyle Alexander Dale Oen Mirna Jukic Silver—Men's 100m Breaststroke Bronze—Women's 100m Breaststroke JAPAN—SWIMMING Kosuke Kitajima Sara Nordenstam CANADA—TRIATHLON Gold—Men's 100m Breaststroke* Bronze—Women's 200m Breaststroke Simon Whitfield Gold—Men's 200m Breaststroke* Silver—Men's Triathlon Bronze—Men's 4x100m Medley Relay * denotes World Record (6 total) ** set World Record in leadoff leg of relay DENMARK—SWIMMING Takeshi Matsuda Lotte Friis Bronze—Men's 200m Butterfly Bronze—Women's 800m Freestyle table of contents MEDIA INFORMATION 2008-09 Top Times ................................................ 38 NOTICE TO THE MEDIA 2009-10 Schedule .................................... Back Cover 2008-09 Meet Results ............................................ 38 This media guide is provided by the Northern Media Information .................................................... 8 Arizona athletics media relations office to Athletics Directory .................................................... 8 OPPONENTS assist media members with their coverage of Lumberjack swimming and diving. Publicity Primary Media Outlets ............................................ 8 All-time Dual Meet Series Records ........................ 39 All-time Meet Results ............................................ 39 for the program is handled by assistant athlet- ics media relations director Joe Scacco. All UNIVERSITY media needs, including the latest information, HISTORY AND RECORD BOOK Flagstaff, Arizona ......................................................9 may be obtained by contacting Scacco at (928) Northern Arizona University .................................