Nevada grabbed its 12th straight dual meet win with a conquest of Fresno State.
Nevada Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. – Following an afternoon that saw the Wolf Pack win 12 out of 16 events, the Nevada swimming and diving team came out on top of Fresno State 177-123 on Saturday. The victory gives the Pack a 2-0 dual meet record on the year and extends the program’s win streak to 12 meets, dating back to last season.
“I’m really happy with our performances today,” Nevada head coach Brendon Bray said. “The meet was defined by a lot of very close finishes, where we were able to outlast our opponent. Our divers continue to improve and we’re going to keep getting better week to week.”
The meet began with Nevada winning four of the first six events, including the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:47.98. Senior Teresa Baerens led the way for Nevada as she was involved in three victories on the day and one other second place finish. She was the anchor in the A team’s 400-yard medley relay win.
Her senior counterpart Arantxa Medina-Alegria was part of four top three finishes on the day, including an individual victory in the 200-yard IM that she won in 2:06.65. Junior Emma Payne finished the afternoon with three top two finishes and helped lead the A team to a 200-yard freestyle relay victory.
Sophomore diver Toma Shmitova swept the diving competitions, winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard by scores of 309.08 and 326.48, respectively. Her classmate Jamie Reynolds also won two events, finishing first in the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 50-yard freestyle that she won in narrow margin, with a time of 24.29.
“We’re looking forward to another big competition next weekend against UC Davis and Cal State East Bay, and continue our march to be at our very best by the end of the year,” Bray said.
Next weekend, Nevada will travel back to California where the Pack will take on both UC Davis and Cal State East Bay on Saturday, Nov. 4, beginning at 4 p.m. PT.
Fresno State Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State hosted reigning Mountain West Champion Nevada in their first dual meet of the 2016-17 season. The Bulldogs fell to the Wolf Pack 177-123, Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs were led by freshman Manuela Mendolicchio and Sophomore Ugne Mazutaityte.
Head Coach Jeanne Fleck was pleased with her team's performance and the way they battled through the adversity of injuries and illnesses.
"We raced Nevada really well today," said Fleck "We were missing a few key swimmers due to illnesses and injuries. Despite the setbacks I'm happy with the way we competed against the reigning conference champions."
Freshman Natalia Nienaltowska had her first collegiate first place finish in the 1000 Freestyle with a time of 10:28.73. Followed by Vanessa Dugan (10:43.12) in second place and Emily Niles (10:43.66) in third place.
"We had a lot of kids step up today," Fleck said. "Natalia Nienaltowska had an awesome meet for us today. She was great in the 1000 Freestyle and 200 Butterfly."
Nienaltowska also placed second in the 200 Butterfly (2:07.29).
Freshman Manuela Mendolicchio remains undefeated in the 100 Breaststroke (1:04.05) and 200 Breaststroke (2:16.72) this season. She finished first in both events for the third consecutive meet.
Sophomore Ugne Mazutaityte remains undefeated in the 200 Backstroke this season, finishing in first (1:59.51) for the third consecutive meet. Mazutaityte also had a second place finish in the 100 Backstroke.
As for the 50 Freestyle, Hannah Jarvis and Katelin Britton tied for third place with a time of 24.42.
Fresno State 400 Medley Relay team of Mazutaityte, Mendolicchio, Gabbie Libang and Katelin Britton finished second with a time of 3:51.60.
Katelin Britton placed third in the 100 Freestyle (53.45) followed by Kali Conlon in fourth place (55.16).
In the 100 Butterfly, Gabbie Libang took third place (59.02) followed by Esme Gullick in fourth (59.24).
As for the 200 IM, Mendolicchio placed third with a time of 2:09.09.
Fresno State's 200 Freestyle Relay Team of Jarvis, Britton, Conlon and Ally Short finished second with a time of 1:37.54.
"It's early in the season and we are making strides but we need to keep improving," Fleck said.
Senior diver Shelbie Holden led the Bulldogs on both boards. Holden placed second on the 1 Meter (282.30) and third place on the 3 Meter (288.68).
Freshman Serena Sedilllo took fourth place on the 3 Meter (277.73) and sophomore transfer Kelli Funk took fourth place on the 1 Meter (268.73).
"Our divers did really well today," said head diving coach Taryn Patrick. "All three of them were consistent and two qualified for NCAA Zone Diving."
Shelbie Holden's scores qualified for NCAA Zone Diving on both boards. Kelli Funk qualified for NCAA Zone Diving on the 1 Meter.
Fresno State swimmers will host UOP, UC Santa Cruz and Fresno Pacific on Nov. 12 at p.m. PT in the Aquatics Complex, while the Bulldog divers travel to Southern California to compete in the USC Diving Invitational Nov. 11-12.
