The Wyoming Cowgirl swimming and diving team dominated its senior day against Colorado State on Friday evening. The Cowgirls won 14 of the 16 events during the dual meet including the first seven en route to a 196-104 victory.
“This is a great senior class,” UW head coach Tom Johnson said. “They have done really well and guided us through today. I was really proud of the amount of work they put in this week. Like always, we find some small things to work on, but now that the blocks are setup we will be able to sharpen up a bit. It was a great swim today.”
To begin the meet, a team of Emily Stevens, Emily Ridout, Molly Coonce and Samantha Burke kicked off the night with a win in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:44.91. Up next, senior Nicole Hlavacek took first place in the 1000 free with a time of 10:33.70.
Keara Chang followed with a time of 1:55.27 in the 200 free to take her first of two victories on the day. Chang also swam the best time in the 500 free with a mark of 5:10.11. Emily Stevens touched the pads first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.99, while the Cowgirls added significant points to their lead in the 100 breaststroke. Maria Harutjunjan won with a time of 1:05.24, while Emma Dow (1:05.61) and Susanna Schumann (1:06.36) came in second and third, respectively.
Kelly Sheldon continued the momentum with a first-place finish in the 200 butterfly (2:08.80). UW went 1-2 in the 50 freestyle. Emily Ridout posted a 23.35, which is the ninth fastest time in Cowgirl history. Danielle Badger came in second posting a 24.50.
Isobel Ryan won her only event in the 100 freestyle. She came away with a final mark of 53.11, while Abby Sullivan followed with another victory in the 200 backstroke (2:04.93). Emma Dow took home the 200 breaststroke title (5:10.11), as Coonce once again moved her name into the top-10 for the 100 butterfly. Coonce recorded a 56.05 in the 100 fly, the tenth-best time in Cowgirl history.
Wyoming closed out the meet with Emily Sticky taking the 200 IM with a time of 2:08.93, while a tandem of Burke, Sarae Dydo, Ryan and Ridout claimed first in the 200 free relay.
In diving, Kari Campbell finished second in both the 1 and 3-meter events. She posted a score of 277.35 on the 1-meter and a 273.53 for the 3-meter. Keely Bishop placed third in both events as well. Ryan took second in the 100 backstroke, while Kara Guenther came away with a second-place finish in the 500 free.
UW swim and dive competes next as the Pokes welcome Air Force on Thursday and both Northern Arizona and Air Force will compete against the Cowgirls on Friday.
Colorado State
Senior Ariana Milone swept both diving events as Colorado State fell at Wyoming, 196-104, in Laramie, Wyo., on Friday night.
Aside from Milone’s wins in the 1-Meter springboard (283.58) and 3-Meter springboard (307.58), the Rams were unable to pick up any event wins. The meet was a learning experience for the Rams, and Head Coach Christopher Woodard believes his team can continue to improve as they near the end of the fall season.
"It was a pretty humbling experience,” Woodard said. “At some point as a team, we are going to have to crack the code to be able to go up to Laramie and show up as a complete team. We did show up in certain areas, and I was proud of the girls who showed up and posted season-bests and gutted out some tough second-place finishes.”
CSU’s second-place finishers included Ida Donohue in the 1000 Free (10:47.76), Meg Lloyd in the 200 Fly (2:11.12), Jess Shepard in the 200 Back (2:05.41) and 200 IM (2:09.96), Jenna Beaury in the 200 Breast (2:25.06) and Karin Roh in the 100 Fly (58.66). The Rams also had a runner-up finish in the 200 Free Relay, with Carmen Mand, Kelsey Lawton, Teagan Griffith and Colleen Olson teaming up to finish in 1:38.91.
Woodard is confident that his group can rebound and continue to be better prepared as the season progresses.
“We’re done with our midway point,” Woodard said. “We are going to go to Houston and then Austin and post as many personal bests as we can to set ourselves up for conference and get faster.”
CSU will compete next at the Phil Hansel Invite hosted by Houston, Nov. 19-21.
