The NM State swimming and diving team looked dominant in their 175.5-116.5 win over conference-rival Northern Colorado on Thursday evening. The Aggies were looking for redemption after coming up just nine points short of a win in Greeley, Colo. last season.
"There were many great performances again tonight from our ladies,” said assistant coach Rachel Judge. “All of our events have some depth, and we got to play with that a little bit in today's line up. The attitude of our team right now is definitely taking us in the right direction, and the energy is contagious. The team as a whole is getting healthier, and we are looking forward to getting a few more weeks of training in before we head off to the Houston Invite right before Thanksgiving."
In the first event of the evening, NM State took first place in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of Cassandra Rupp, Lauren Wood, Georgia Brown and Jannah Sonnenschein combined for a time of 1:47.64, just ahead of Northern Colorado’s 1:50.37.
In the 1000-yard freestyle, the second event, UNC’s Carliegh Barrett took the top time, coming in at 10:40.45. The Aggies’ Natalie French came in second with a time of 10.45.22.
NM State finished one-two in the 200-yard freestyle. Picabo Bender, the Buckeye, Ariz./Verrado HS native, finished with the top time of 1:55.44. Fellow sophomore Cori Molisee came in right behind her with a time of 1:57.30.
The Aggies also took the top two times in the 100-yard backstroke. Sophomore Georgia Brown came in first with a time of 57.71 and senior Cassandra Rupp finished right behind her with a time of 58.05.
Northern Colorado took the 100-yard breaststroke with Leilani Herrera finishing in 1:04.85. Aggie freshman Lauren Wood finished second with a time of 1:05.26.
Aggie standout Dorottya Lennert took the top time in the 200-yard butterfly. The Budapest, Hungary/CSIK Ferenc HS native came in with a time of 2:03.92.
NM State took the top two spots in the 50-yard freestyle. Picabo Bender came in first with a time of 25.17 with sophomore Jannah Sonnenschein right behind her with a time of 25.20.
Northern Colorado’s Savanna Meadows won the 1-meter diving event, the first of two diving events, with a score of 266.78. Aggie sophomore Abigail Watson finished second with a score of 234.45.
NM State finished the 100-yard freestyle with the top two times. Lennert finished first with a time of 53.44 and Molisee finished second with a time of 54.23.
In the 200-yard backstroke, the Aggies took first, second and third place. Cassandra Rupp came in first with a time of 2:07.95, sophomore Gabriel Sanchez came in next at 2:08.88 and senior Kenzie Soper in at 2:12.33.
NM State’s Lauren Wood tied for the top time with UNC’s Leilani Herrera in the 200-yard breaststroke. Both swimmers finished with a time of 2:22.13.
The Aggies’ Picabo Bender won the 500-yard freestyle. The sophomore finished with a time of 5:08.83.
In the final diving event of the evening, the 3-meter diving event, NM State’s Mackinna Hauff took the top score. The freshman from Edmonton, Canada/Vimy Ridge Academy registered a score of 244.28.
NM State’s Rupp took the top time in the penultimate event, the 200-yard IM. The senior from San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis HS came in with a time of 2:09.98.
In the final event of the meet, the Aggies took the top time in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Bender, Molisee, Barbora Krizanova and Lennert combined for a time of 3:36.55.
NM State is back in action as they travel to Houston, Texas for the Houston Invite on November 19.
