UNM coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker earned her first dual meet victory at New Mexico with a triumph over Northern Arizona on Saturday.
New Mexico Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- The University of New Mexico women's swimming and diving team picked up its first victory under their new coach as the Lobos defeated Northern Arizona 156.5-140.5 Saturday afternoon at Seidler Natatorium.
However, more importantly to UNM coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker – she saw improvement from her team from their last time out against Wyoming.
"Our goals are pretty simple – first and foremost was to be better than we were against Wyoming," Tierney-Walker said. "We accomplished that. I definitely saw some improvements in the execution of our races. We were also more aggressive at the front end of our races. It's getting there – we're still a work in progress because it's not perfect yet. But it's also still October and we feel like we are moving in the right direction."
The Lobos took 11 of the 16 events Saturday over the Lumberjacks with Adriano Palomino claiming three victories – the 1,000 (10:24.24), 500 (5:01.36) and 200 (1:52.07) freestyle. More impressively, Palomino won the 1,000 and 200 in back-to-back events.
"She handled the back-to-back very well," Tierney-Walker said. "… It's just a testament to her training. You are seeing it pay off now."
Emily McGill won the 100 breaststroke (1:04.70) and the 200 individual medley and also took second in the 200 breaststroke (2:22.19) to teammate Lindsey Englestead (2:21.19) – a race the duo completed eight seconds faster than the next closest finisher.
"On a daily basis they are doing a nice job of working to improve on their endurance and also the little details on their stroke," Tierney-Walker said of McGill and Englestead. "I think you are starting to see it in their performances."
Also winning a pair of events for the Lobos was Kaela McKee as she claimed first in both the 100 (57.08) and 200 (2:05.14) backstroke.
Konoha Shinada used a strong final 25 yards to win the 50 free in 23.86, just 0.12 seconds faster than teammate Madison Burns.
The Lobos also won a pair of relays – taking first in the 200 medley (McKee, McGill, Abigail Wheeler and Burns – 1:44.98) and the 400 free (Burns, McKee, Shinada and Palomino – 3:31.16).
In diving, Allyson Concepcion set a career high in the 3-meter with 305.78 (the first time she's broke the 300 mark) while finishing fourth and she finished with a 280.43 in the 1-meter to take third. Both scores qualified her for the NCAA Zones.
Maddie Horner set a personal best on both boards with a 264.23 on the 1-meter and a 251.85 on the 3-meter. She was tantalizingly close to qualifying for the NCAA Zone in the 1-meter as she finished 0.77 points away from the qualifying score of 265.
"The divers had a great performance," UNM diving coach Julie Weddle said. "We are still growing, but I am very pleased with the direction our team is going."
The Lobos next compete at the Phill Hansel Invitational starting Nov. 18 in Houston, Texas.
NAU Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team received an exceptional performance from their divers, but ultimately was unable to notch a victory on their first road trip of the season on Saturday. The Lumberjacks won a total of five events including both diving springboards and a set of wins from junior Alina Staffeldt in a 156.5-140.5 loss to New Mexico.
NAU’s divers were the lead story with senior Alexa Geiger and sophomore Christina Torrente notching victories on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards respectively. Geiger posted a winning score of 305.40 on 1-meter for her first dual meet win of the season, while Torrente recorded a career-best score of 312.00 to earn her first career dual meet victory.
Overall, NAU swept the top three spots on 1-meter and went one-two-four on 3-meter to aid the Lumberjacks’ team effort on the scoreboard. Sophomore Tanya Kurach placed second behind her teammates in both events with scores of 304.28 and 309.75 respectively on 1-meter and 3-meter. Geiger placed third on 3-meter, while Torrente placed fourth on 1-meter.
The three divers along with sophomore Raquel Gonzales, who dove as an exhibition participant on Saturday, all qualified for the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships with their performances. Notably, Gonzales, like Torrente, earned a career-best 3-meter score of 301.20.
“Today was a great day; for this time of the season we were incredibly consistent,” said diving coach Nikki Huffman. “Four of our five girls all qualified for NCAA Zones on 1-meter and 3-meter, and even Olivia Payne dove with solid scores on both boards after missing a few weeks with an injury. I was proud of our great team effort and if we can keep building on this, we are going to have an amazing season.”
Staffeldt led the NAU swimmers with all three of the swimmers’ event victories in the 100 and 200 butterfly and 100 freestyle. She notched her first win of the day in the 200 fly, posting a time of 2:04.20 before the first break. Coming out of the break, she immediately led a big Lumberjack effort in the 100 free with a time of 53.09. Staffeldt closed her day with a winning time of 56.53 in the 100 fly.
Staffeldt was one of three ‘Jacks in a spectacular 100 freestyle race with junior Roni Houck finishing just behind her in second. Houck clocked a time of 53.13 and was followed by junior Claire Hammond, who finished in a virtual tie with a Lobo swimmer for third.
During the early portion of the meet, NAU countered a pair of New Mexico wins in the 200 free and 100 breast with finishes in the second, third and fourth positions. Hammond and freshmen Erin Spielman and Alice Hick wound up in the two-through-four spots in the 200 free, while senior Urte Kazakaviciute, freshman Emily Martin and junior Audrey Mann occupied the same spots in the 100 breaststroke. Junior Kimmy Richter also totaled a pair of runner-up finishes in the 1,000 and 500 freestyles.
“We were a little flat, especially in the first part of the meet,” said head coach Andy Johns. “New Mexico was better than us today, and we’ve got a short turnaround to go against an even better team next week in Washington State and then Idaho will be waiting for us. It was a good learning experience, especially for our young team, and we are going to keep working to get better.”
