Nevada overcame a 39.5 deficit on Saturday to win its first Mountain West Women’s Swimming and Diving title in one of the tightest championship finishes in Conference history. The Wolf Pack, under the direction of first-year head coach Neil Harper, tallied 664 points across 21 events at the Texas A&M Natatorium in College Station, Texas, edging out Boise State by 13 points.
Over the final three events, Nevada junior Sita Kusserow won the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 1:58.68, while senior Erin Fuss added 15 points with fourth place in the event. The Wolf Pack divers added to their successful run through the meet with three places among the top four in the platform, the second-to-last event of the meet. Senior Krysta Palmer, the Mountain West Diver of the Year for the second year in a row, won the event with a 362.15, followed by freshmen Zoe Lei in second and Sharae Zheng in fourth. Nevada finished second in the 400-yard medley relay to hold on to the lead. For the fourth year in a row, Wolf Pack diving coach Jian Li You was named the MW Diving Coach of the Year.
Boise State won four of the five relays in the meet, including the 400 medley relay with an NCAA automatic-qualifying and all-time MW time of 3:15.38. Senior Sam Wicks, the 2016 MW Swimmer of the Year and Senior Recognition Award recipient, earned five wins in the meet, including individual crowns in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard individual medley. She also was a part of three winning relay teams for the Broncos and finished second in the 200-yard backstroke. First-year Boise State head coach Jeremy Kipp was named 2016 MW Swimming Coach of the Year.
San Diego State finished in third place with 511 points, while Wyoming took fourth place with 457. UNLV was fifth with 373 followed by San José State (258), New Mexico (248), Colorado State (223), Air Force (207) and Fresno State (182).
Fresno State rookie Ugne Mazutaityte took home Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors after a strong meet performance that included a win in the 200-yard backstroke on Saturday evening. Mazutaityte won the race with a 1:54.47, one of 15 swimmers in the finals to record an NCAA ‘B’ cut.
Air Force junior Genevieve Miller won her second event of the meet with an MW all-time record of 16:01.39 in the 1650-yard freestyle, surpassing the previous Championship record of 16:13.01 that she set in 2015 and the overall record of 16:10.58 that she hit at the 2015 NCAA National Championships. San José State senior Riley Spitser finished second with an NCAA ‘B’ cut of 16:22.79, while Air Force senior Sara Menke just missed the mark in third place with a 16:31.47.
UNLV senior Michelle Troup won the 100-yard freestyle crown with an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 49.12. She led a group of eight swimmers in the finals to reach the qualifying mark. Second-place finisher Whitney Weisz of San Diego State swam a 49.14, followed by Wyoming senior Emily Ridout with a 49.17.
Nevada senior Yawen Li contributed to the Wolf Pack team victory with a win in the 200-yard breaststroke for the third year in a row. Li swam a 2:10.58, followed by Wyoming sophomore Maria Harutjunjan in second at 2:12.18 and Nevada junior Arantxa Medina with a third-place time of 2:13.33.
Air Force
The Air Force women’s swimming and diving team finished ninth at the Mountain West Championships, Feb. 20, in College Station, Texas. Nevada won the team title with 664 points while Boise State was second (651), San Diego State was third (511), Wyoming was fourth (457), UNLV was fifth (373), San Jose State was sixth (258), New Mexico was seventh (248), Colorado State was eighth (223), Air Force was ninth (207) and Fresno State was 10th (182).
For the third consecutive season, junior Genevieve Miller won the 1650 free with a time of 16:01.39. Miller broke her own school, conference and championship meet record. Senior Sara Menke placed third in the 1650 free with a time of 16:31.47. For the third straight year, Miller won both the 500 free and 1650 free at the conference championship meet.
Air Force had three swimmers make the “C” final of the 100 back as Emma Strom was 18th overall (55.43), Elise Hart was 19th overall (55.69) and Emily D’Amato was 23rd overall (57.38). In the finals of the 100 free, Jinan Andrews was 22nd overall (51.56).
Senior Jenna Tasic qualified for the “B” final in the 200 fly and placed 13th overall (2:03.62). Asia Antoniuk was 20th overall (2:05.47).
In platform, Jessica Horn was 13th with 231.50 points.
Boise State
Boise State added a seventh event title to its weekend haul Saturday night but it was not enough as the Broncos were edged out of the 2016 Mountain West Championship, 664-651, by first-place Nevada.
The 13-point loss was the second-lowest margin of victory in Mountain West Championships history, bigger only than Boise State’s five-point win in 2012.
But the night was not without its highlights and triumphs for the Broncos. The 400 free relay team of Brittany Aoyama, Sam Wicks, Emma Chard and Katelyn Martin successfully defended the team’s title in the event, winning the 2016 crown in a school and conference-record time of 3:15.38, which was also the team’s third NCAA A cut of the meet.
For Wicks, the title was her fifth of the meet (200 FR, 400 FR, 200 MR, 100 back, 200 IM), and at the conclusion of Saturday’s program she was named the 2015-16 Mountain West Swimmer of the Year. It was her second honor of the night, as prior to the finals she was named the recipient of the 2015-16 Mountain West Swimming and Diving Senior Award.
Head coach Jeremy Kipp also took home some hardware, being named the 2015-16 Mountain West Coach of the Year.
Wicks nearly had a sixth title at the meet, finishing second in the 200 back championship final as her time of 1:54.76 was just 0.29 of a second behind champion Ugne Mazutaityte of Fresno State (1:54.47). Freshman Ally Kleinsorgen finished off a strong first collegiate championship meet by taking third in the event with a time of 1:56.59.
Three Broncos qualified for the 100 free championship final, with Aoyama leading the Bronco contingent in that race with a time of 49.43, good for fourth place. Chard was sixth in 49.74 and Martin seventh in 49.90.
Emily Mathis also took home a fourth-place finish, this one coming in the 200 breast as she touched the wall in 2:13.34. In the 1,650 free, Blake Balogh turned in a fifth-place effort in 16:47.31 while Amelia Draney was eighth in 16:53.56.
On platform, the Bronco divers turned in their finest outings of the meet, as Kiley Carlson (238.90) and Karli Kriewall (233.75) finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the A final, while freshman Cassidy Bose posted her first NCAA Zone Qualifying score with a 254.70 to top the B final. Kacee Olson was third in the B final and 11th overall with a score of 237.35.
Other Broncos to score in the swimming events Saturday night included Mandy Barnes taking 10th in the 200 fly in 2:01.98 and 11th in the 1,650 free in 17:01.03, as well as Taylor Padington (17:01.44, 12th) in the 1,650 free, Laura Williams (2:17.16, 12th) in the 200 breast, Abbey Sorensen (1:59.19, 13th) in the 200 back and Cody Evans (50.26, 14th) in the 100 free.
In the team competition, the Broncos held a slim lead going into the platform finals, but Nevada took the lead for good as divers Krysta Palmer (362.15), Zoe Lei (278.00) and Sharae Zheng (248.60) finished first, second and fourth, respectively, to collect 52 points for the Wolf Pack.
Nevada’s 400 free relay team would clinch the win with a runner-up finish to the Broncos in the 400 free relay.
For the weekend, Boise State swimmers set eight school records. Individually, Sam Wicks set records in the 100 back (52.03) and 200 IM (1:57.18), while Emma Chard set benchmarks in the 200 free (1:45.11) and 500 free (4:40.21).
Relay marks were set in the 200 free relay (1:28.93 – Aoyama, Wicks, Martin, Sorensen), 400 free relay (3:35.11 – Aoyama, Wicks, Chard, Martin), 800 free relay (7:04.60 – Chard, Aoyama, Balogh, Cann) and the 200 medley relay (1:37.63 – Wicks, Williams, Aoyama, Martin). The times for the three free relays also qualified as NCAA A cuts.
Colorado State
The Colorado State Rams swimming & diving team took 10th at the 2016 Mountain West Championships, scoring 223 points over the four-day event. The Rams beat out Air Force and Fresno State, and improved on their score from the 2015 meet by over 50 points.
The Rams persevered all week, and that was presented well in the final event of the championship, the 400 free relay. Competing in the first heat of the final, knowing that only a disqualification would really harm their score, the Rams rallied from last in the heat late to finish second in the segment (eighth overall) with a strong last push led by sophomore Katie Kicklighter.
“We knew going into the final relay that only a DQ would really hurt us,” CSU Head Coach Christopher Woodard said. “I told the girls to be very careful with their starts and they could have easily just accepted a last-place finish. But to climb from last to eighth at the end just shows that we’re going to fight until the end.”
CSU received a pair of seventh-place finishes on the day, with junior Jenna Beaury taking seventh with an NCAA B cut time of 2:15.48 in the 200 Breast. Freshman Ida Donohue took seventh in the 1650 Free, finishing in a personal-best 16:48.92. Junior Gabby Morley also scored in the 1650 Free, placing 13th in a season-best 17:04.61.
Kicklighter added points for CSU with a 12th-place result in the 100 Free, scoring the top mark of the year for the Rams in the discipline with a 50.17.
“We set out to accomplish quite a few goals,” Woodard said. “Some we missed on, but some were right on the money. Mostly, I’m just glad we’re scoring more points here. We’re excited. We’ll take some time off when we get back, and then we’ll be right back working on getting ready for next year.”
Woodard and his staff appreciated the improvements his team made, and also how multiple freshmen stepped up and scored points for CSU.
“I am really impressed,” Woodard said. “I think what it means is that we’re doing something right as a program and that we’re going in the right direction. It’s going to be hard to lose these seniors, but seeing the underclassmen perform the way they did makes it feel a little better.”
Fresno State
Bulldog freshman Ugne Mazutaityte took home the Mountain West Freshman of the Year award as the Fresno State swimming and diving team wrapped up the Mountain West Championships at the Texas A&M Natatorium in College Station, Texas on Saturday.
Fresno State freshman Ugne Mazutaityte took home the gold in the 200-yard backstroke championship final with a Fresno State record time of 1:54.47, one second faster than her previous personal-best.
This was the Bulldogs' first MW individual event champion since Dani Yoho won the 50-yard freestyle in 2013. Mazutaityte is also the first 'Dog to medal in two individual swimming events in a conference championship since the program returned in 2008.
Junior Esme Gullick placed seventh overall in the 200-yard butterfly championship final when she tied the program record with a time of 2:01.78.
Senior Leah Hatayama's 100-yard free time of 50.69 seconds in the bonus final was second-fastest in program history.
Senior Brooke Rodriguez swam a 2:15.77 in the 200-yard breaststroke consolation final, an NCAA `B' standard and second-fastest in Fresno State history.
Nevada swam the fastest times in the 200 breast and 200 fly and took the top two scores in the platform dives, Boise State placed first in the 400-yard free relay, Air Force won the 1650-yard free and UNLV took the top spot in the 100 free.
UNLV
Senior Michelle Troup became the first Rebel since 2014 to win an individual title, helping the Rebels finish fifth overall on Saturday night at the 2016 Mountain West Women's Swimming & Diving Championships, held at the Texas A&M Natatorium. The Rebels posted 373 points for the meet, which was won by Nevada, Reno with 664 points Due to the Wolf Pack's higher finish in the championships, UNR receives three points for women's swimming in the Governor's Series, the all-sports competition between the two schools sponsored by NV Energy and Barrick Gold, and both schools are now tied at 7.5-7.5.
Finishing behind UNR in second was Boise State, as just 13 points decided this year's championship. San Diego State was third with 511, while Wyoming was fourth (457) in the 10-team field.
The night's first event was the 1650 free, and Josefine Hippi led the way with a 10th-place time of 16:57.63, the eighth-fastest time in UNLV history. Jessica Wong then followed that with an 11th-place swim of 1:58.47 in the 200 back, with a NCAA 'B' provisional time, while also moving into sixth-place in the team record book.
Then came the 100 free, where Troup swam out to a career-best 49.19 in the morning to earn the night's top spot, then a very tight swim, just .05 seconds separated first from third. Troup touched the wall in 49.12, just ahead of Whitney Weisz (49.14) of San Diego State and Emily Ridout (49.17) of Wyoming to claim her first career conference title. Both her swims on Saturday broke her previous school record in the event, while she became the first Rebel to win the event at the MW Championships since Jesse Bradshaw in 2004. Julia Fehervari joined Troup in scoring in the event, placing 10th in 50.15.
In the 200 breast UNLV placed two in the top eight, beginning with Lina Rathsack's sixth-place time of 2:14.65, good for a NCAA 'B' time. Kristana Hendrick meanwhile placed eighth, her third top-eight swim of the meet, in 2:16.23. Her morning time of 2:15.81 was a 'B' time and the fifth-fastest in UNLV history.
Goezde Tekin earned her first top-eight swim of this year's meet with a 2:00.44 in the 200 fly to place third overall, the second-best time in team history, while Janelle Nguyen was 15th in 2:05.26.
"We capped the week off with an outstanding group effort today," said interim head coach Bobby Folan. "Everyone picked up their game this morning and kept that rolling tonight. The day of course was highlighted by Michelle's two school record and her conference title. It was a great was to cap an amazing career, and we are very proud of her. As a team, we have come a long way this year and I couldn't be more proud of each and everyone."
The Rebels will now wait to see if they have any qualifying swims for next month's NCAA Women's Championships, held in Atlanta, Ga.
