SAN DIEGO – The Northern Arizona swimming and diving team won eight of 14 events to conclude their training trip to southern California with a win over the University of San Diego on Saturday afternoon.
Northern Arizona Press Release
The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team completed their stay in Southern California with a 151-108 dual meet victory over the University of San Diego on Saturday, capping a productive week of training camp and ending the 2014 calendar year on a high note. The Lumberjacks won eight of the 14 events in posting their ninth straight dual win over the Torreros in the team’s first meeting since the 2009-10 season.
“Overall it was a great week,” said head coach Andy Johns. “Between Vegas and here (in San Diego), we got a lot of work done and we’re in good shape heading into next semester and the new year. We had some people win their first collegiate dual meet events like Eva (Pold) and Kimmy (Richter). All around it was a really good week.”
NAU came off the blocks fast going one-two in the 200 medley relay to start the day. The Lumberjack ‘A’ team of sophomore Sara Lenhoff, sophomore Urte Kazakeviciute, senior Alexis Juergens and freshman Roni Houck captured the victory with a time of 1:50.77 to give NAU the early lead in the meet.
The Lumberjacks continued their strong start by going one-two in the 1,000 free, which was the first of five individual events in which they claimed the top two spots. Senior Caitlin Wright won the event with a time of 10:25.18 and junior Kendall Brown followed with a time of 10:31.79.
Although San Diego won the next two events – the 200 free and the 100 back – NAU was able to offset USD in the 100 back by finishing two-three-four with redshirt junior Alex Huff narrowly being edged out for first in the event by .02 seconds with a time of 1:00.66.
Kazakeviciute and freshman Melanie Harris proceeded to take the first two spots in the 100 breast with Kazakeviciute posting a winning time of 1:07.76 before a trio of ‘Jacks led the way in the 200 fly. Junior Eva Pold won her first career dual meet event with a time of 2:09.05 and was followed closely by Juergens and freshman Kimmy Richter. Houck then claimed NAU’s third straight win in the 50 free, clocking in at a time of 24.90.
USD won the 100 free and then the 200 back, but for the second time on the day the Lumberjacks posted a two-three-four finish in the backstroke to counter the Torreros win. Sophomore Jori Lindquist was just out-touched at the wall in the 200 back, placing second with a time of 2:10.74 which was four-tenths of a second behind San Diego’s top finisher.
In the 200 breast, Harris and Kazakeviciute once again finished atop the leaderboard but the pair flipped spots from the 100 event, with Harris winning with a time of 2:23.95. Richter then posted her first dual meet win of her young career in the 500 free with a time of 5:06.86, pacing Wright and Pold in a one-two-three NAU finish in the event. Sandwiched between Torrero wins in the 100 fly and the 400 free relay, junior Monica Pruett ended the day with NAU’s final victory in the 200 IM, posting a time of 2:13.11.
In all, seven different Lumberjacks each claimed a win in NAU’s seven individual event victories after the medley relay win to begin the day.
The Lumberjacks will have the next week off before heading south of the state to Tucson where they will train for the week before competing in their annual double-dual against Pac-12 opponents Arizona and Oregon State on Jan. 2.
San Diego Press Release
The USD swim team competed in their final meet of 2014 when they hosted Northern Arizona Saturday afternoon. The Toreros were edged by NAU 174-133, but were able to take first place in six events.
Highlighting the day for the Toreros was Jackie Taylor and Sarah Reierson, who each won two events. Taylor won the 100 (53:50) and 200 yard freestyle (1:52.99), while Reierson took first place in the 100 (1:00.64) and 200 yard backstroke (2:10.34). Taylor also teamed up with Danielle Deiparine, Stephanie Jones, and Gwen Walter to win the 400 yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:37.06.
Taylor Noonan also had a strong day for USD, earning a first place finish in the 100 yard butterfly (58.06), while claiming second place in both the 50 Free (25:24) and the 200 Free (1:54.29).
Keenan Lineback earned second place honors in the 200 IM with a time of 2:13.68.
Stephanie Jones had two individual top-three finishes, coming in third in the 50 (25:38) and 100 yard freestyle (56:05). Jones also helped the Toreros earn third in the 200 yard medley relay. Along with Reierson, Deiparine, and Noonan, the Toreros finished in 1:51.91.
Other top three finishes for the Toreros include: Gwen Walter (1000 freestyle, 10:44.55), Julia Personeni (100 breast, 1:09.84), Danielle Deiparine (200 breast, 2:25.89), and Sarah Reierson (200 IM, 2:14.16).
Morgan Scarth also swam a season best time of 1:08.07 in the 100 yard butterfly.
The Toreros have a break until 2015, but will have a busy January that features seven meets. They will return to the pool January 3rd when they host Air Force, Boise State, and San Jose State for a relay meet.
Results: Northern Arizona vs. San Diego