Fresno State got a first hand look at a Mountain West Conference contender on Saturday, falling 172-125 to Nevada in a dual meet at the Aquatics Center.
The Wolf Pack finished third at the conference championship last season and return plenty of talent this season.
“I learned that we need to have a little more confidence in ourselves after today,” Bulldogs head coach Jeanne Fleck said. “We still had some pretty good sparks, but we just need to get a little tougher as the season goes on.”
The ‘Dogs went 1-2-3 in the 50 Freestyle, with junior Leah Hatayama getting the win with a time of 23.77 seconds. Dana Jones (2nd, 24.37) and Hannah Jarvis (3rd, 24.73) finished behind Hatayama to complete the top three sweep for the ‘Dogs.
Junior Tarryn Rennie won the 100 Butterfly with a time of 58.40 for her first event win of the season.
Sophomore Esme Gullick was also a part of the second place 400 Medley Relay team. Along with that, she had a second place finish in the 100 Backstroke (57.87) and another second place finish in the 200 Backstroke (2:05.76).
Sophomore diver Shelbie Holden took second on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 249.23. She also took second in the 1-meter with a 237.82.
Fresno State closed the day strong with a win in the 200 Freestyle Relay. Dana Jones closed out the race for the ‘Dogs as they edged Nevada by .29 seconds.
In the 200 IM, the second-to-last event of the meet, Fresno State swimmers had a 2-3 finish. Sophomore Hailee Baldwin finished second in 2:09.52 and senior Karissa DeRousseau behind her with a time of 2:09.77.
“We’re starting to get that confidence that we can finish out a meet and that is a really good thing for us,” Fleck said.
The ‘Dogs are back in action next Sunday, November 2, for another dual meet. They will take on UC Davis of the Big West Conference at 1:00 p.m., at the Aquatics Center.
