The Wyoming Cowgirl’s swimming and diving team came away with wins over Air Force and Northern Arizona in double-dual competition on Friday night at the Laramie Recreation Center. The Cowgirls withheld Air Force by a score of 176-118, while also defeating NAU 181-113. The wins moved UW to 6-1 on the young season.
UW opened and closed the meet with strong victories in the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay, respectively. Wyoming ultimately took the top-two spots in the 200 medley relay. A team of Emily Stevens, Molly Coonce, Maria Harutjunjan and Emily Ridout claimed the top finish in the 200 relay with a time of 1:44.55, while Abby Sullivan, Susanna Schumann, Mary Uselmann and Samantha Burke finished with a 1:47.69. In the 400 free relay, Isobel Ryan, Burke, Sullivan and Ridout claimed first with a 3:29.72.
“I thought we raced pretty well this evening,” UW head coach Tom Johnson said. “They have raced an awful lot these past five weeks and I hope they can stay sharp going into the Purdue Invite weekend. I was happy with both relays. Emily (Stucky) had a wonderful IM, while Molly (Coonce) was great again in the 100 fly and Connor (Tarver) did a tremendous job in the 200 back.”
Leading the way individually for the Cowgirls was Kari Campbell and Maria Harutjunjan. They each won two events on the evening for Wyoming. Campbell claimed the top spot in both diving events, while Harutjunjan won the 100 and 200 breaststroke with final marks of 1:05.05 and 2:22.73, respectively. Keely Bishop also added a third-place finish in the 3-meter event.
Wyoming went 1-2-3 in the 100 back event with Emily Stevens leading the way. She won with a time of 57.47, while Stucky took second with 57.96 and Connor Tarver finished in third. Danielle Badger claimed victory in the 100 free before Tarver won the 200 back for UW. Badger posted a time of 52.91, as Tarver won her first event of the year with a 2:07.22. Coonce won the last individual event for the Cowgirls with a victory in the 100 fly. She touched the pads with a time of 56.17, which is just shy of an all-time top-10 mark.
Emma Dow came in second in the 100 breaststroke, as Coonce placed second in the 200 fly. Uselmann and Ridout finished second and third in the 50 free, just before Keara Chang claimed herself a second-place finish in the 500 free.
“Overall, it was a good day to get some of our student-athletes in to races that hadn’t raced a lot these past couple weeks,” Johnson added. “I think we are progressing well as we head into the Purdue Invite weekend.”
The Cowgirls will compete Nov. 20-22 at the Purdue Invite in West Lafayette, Ind.
Northern Arizona
The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team’s first road meet of the season on Friday was highlighted by two overall event wins, propelling the Lumberjacks to a split in a highly competitive double dual. NAU was able to come away with its first dual meet win of the season, 177-123, versus Air Force, while the ‘Jacks fell to Wyoming ,181-113.
“This is a tough place to race and we faced two really tough teams,” said head coach Andy Johns. “Wyoming showed their quality depth and their top end talent. Against Air Force, we overcame their top girl, who won three events. We showed some good resilience in the stroke events. There were a lot of bright spots, but there are still a lot of things to work on. We’re going to have a tough meet tomorrow versus Northern Colorado and that’s what we need to focus on.”
In all, NAU claimed 10 event wins versus Air Force and four versus Wyoming.
The Lumberjacks were dominant in the 200 IM with junior Hayley Edmond posting a time of 2:11.89 to win the event. NAU captured the next two overall spots with senior Monica Pruett finishing second at 2:12.85 and sophomore Audrey Mann posting a time of 2:15.23.
NAU got a second victory on Friday in the 200 butterfly with sophomore Alina Staffeldt clocking a time of 2:04.85 to beat Wyoming’s Molly Coonce by nearly three seconds. The event was one of two outstanding swims by Staffeldt on the day, as she also came in second overall – and first head-to-head versus Air Force – in the 100 fly with a time of 57.04.
The day started with the 200 medley relay in which NAU’s ‘A’ team of Edmond, junior Urte Kazakeviciute, Staffeldt and sophomore Roni Houck placed third overall with a time of 1:47.77. The time was good enough to best Air Force for the early lead in the teams’ dual meet.
Senior Kendall Brown followed with a time of 10:34.43 in the 1000 freestyle which placed her second overall and first in the head-to-head versus Wyoming. NAU then went one-two versus Wyoming in the following event – the 200 free – with sophomores Kimmy Richter and Claire Hammond both posting faster times than the Cowgirls’ top swimmer. Richter and Hammond finished third and fourth overall with times of 1:56.16 and 1:56.28 respectively.
The Lumberjacks’ proceeded to take a big lead in their scoring versus Air Force with junior Jori Lindquist and Edmond going one-two in the 100 backstroke, and Kazakeviciute, Pruett and Mann recording a one-two-three finish in the 100 breaststroke. The ‘Jacks got the best against the Falcons in two additional events with Edmond, Lindquist and senior Brooke Brittain occupying the second, third and fourth overall spots in the 200 back – all better than the Falcons’ top finisher – and Kazakeviciute, Pruett and Mann doing the same in the 200 breast.
Other swimming highlights included Houck and Richter each placing third in the 100 and 500 freestyles respectively. Houck touched the wall with a time of 53.62 in the 100 and Richter posted a time of 5:10.79 in the 500.
Junior Alexa Geiger paced the Lumberjacks in the diving competition that took place at Air Force as she recorded a pair of runner-up finishes. On 1-meter, Geiger registered a score of 258.70 and followed with a score of 271.00 on 3-meter. Both finishes were good for head-to-head wins over Air Force.
Senior Chelsea Jackson completed a one-two finish versus Air Force on 1-meter with a score of 255.75. Freshman Raquel Gonzales scored points for the ‘Jacks in third head-to-head versus Air Force on 3-meter with a score of 228.45.
NAU wraps up the weekend on Saturday facing a quick turnaround at Northern Colorado. The meet in Greeley, Colo. will start at 11:30 a.m.
Air Force
The Air Force women’s swimming team fell to Northern Arizona and Wyoming in a tri-meet, Friday, Nov. 13. The swimming portion of the meet was held in Laramie, Wyo., while the diving was held at the Academy. Wyoming defeated the Falcons (176-118) while Northern Arizona beat Air Force (177-123). Wyoming swept the meet by defeating Northern Arizona (181-113).
Junior Genevieve Miller continues to dominate the distance free events, winning three events. She won the 1000 free with a time of 10:31.25 while teammate Sara Menke was fourth (10:46.79). Miller also won the 500 free (5:08.07).
The Falcons took the top two places in the 200 free as Miller won (1:54.50) and Jinan Andrews was second (1:55.93). Andrews also placed second in the 100 free (53.49).
Sophomore Brianna Mount won the 50 free (24.52). Maria Schroeder was third in the 100 fly (57.63)
In the final event of the day, the 400 free relay, the team of Mount, Schroeder, Andrews and Miller placed second with a time of 3:32.65.
The Falcons travel to the Purdue Invitational, Nov. 20-22, in West Lafayette, Ind.
