The Rams opened their weekend of back-to-back dual meets with a solid win against Northern Colorado, 177-104. CSU did not falter against the Bears, winning 13 of the 16 events Friday evening.
The diving squad split from the swimmers this weekend to perform in the two-day Air Force Diving Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo. The divers have been consistent with high-scoring performances throughout this season and today was no different. Ariana Milone led the effort, earning 274.35 points and sixth place in the 1-meter finals after outperforming her prelim effort of 260.80. Mary Kate Hardy followed her teammate into 12th with a finals score of 236.85.
Results from UNC, AFA and CSU in the 1-meter and 3-meter prelims will be scored towards the final results of this weekend’s dual meets. The 3-meter springboards will be conducted Saturday. The Rams’ 1-meter diving scores were enough to sweep the event when matched against the Bears’.
The swimmers were able to fight exhaustion and pull out some strong performances. Megan Lloyd’s time in the 200 Breaststroke was one of the highlights of the evening. Lloyd swam a 2:21.78 which was enough to earn the freshman a first-place finish, but just missed breaking her season best time (2:21.06).
“Everyone is really tired at this point in the season and it’s really hard to come up with near-season bests unrested,” Head Coach Christopher Woodard said. “So Meg did an especially great job.”
Gabby Morley and Teagan Griffith also had stand-out nights. Both freshmen earned the fist-collegiate wins of their careers. Morley took first in the 500 Freestyle at 5:14.61. Griffith got to the wall at 1:58.08 in the 200 Freestyle, cinching first place for her effort.
“They both stepped in for some of our usual heavy hitters and did a really great job,” Woodard said.
This victory only opens a busy weekend for the Rams. Saturday’s contest against Air Force in not only the Rams’ final home meet of the season, but it is also an Orange Out. The first 100 fans in attendance will receive a free T-shirt. Admission is free. Competition will begin at noon in Moby Pool.
“I expect tomorrow my team will do what needs to be done. Tonight they will rest and recover and come in tomorrow with a great attitude to hopefully a large crowd and they’ll get the job done,” Woodard said.
