FORT COLLINS – Wyoming swimming went into Colorado State and picked up a 183-110 victory against the Rams.
Wyoming Press Release
The University of Wyoming Cowgirl swimming and diving team moved to 42-8 all-time against Colorado State with a 183-110 win over the Rams on Friday evening in Moby Pool in Fort Collins, Colo. Junior Emily Ridout and freshman Maria Harutjunjan combined for seven event wins.
“Everyone swam very well tonight and we were very tough tonight,” UW head coach Tom Johnson said. “It was a tough week of practice and we showed a lot of consistency.”
Wyoming won 15 of the 16 events on the night. Ridout earned wins in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.72 and the 100 freestyle with a mark of 51.61. She was also a part of both relay teams that earned victories. She was joined by senior Jordan Denny, junior Molly Coonce and Harutjunjan in the 200 medley relay clocking in at 1:44.38. Ridout was flanked by sophomore Danielle Badger, freshman Rachel McKivigan and redshirt junior Emily Stucky in the 200 freestyle relay taking the event with a mark of 1:34.35.
Harutjunjan opened her night with a win in the 100 breaststroke with a mark of 1:04.09. She added a win in the 200 breaststroke later in the night clocking in with a 2:17.82. Her final event win came in the 200 individual medley finishing with a time of 2:09.05.
“Both of Emily and Maria have been fantastic this season and have paved the way for us,” Johnson said.
Junior Keara Chang helped the Cowgirls dominate the freestyle events. She won the 200 freestyle at 1:54.53 and the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:07.32. Fellow junior Lauren McClure won her first career event taking the crown in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 10:33.02.
Other event wins included Denny winning the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:05.81. Senior Claudia Carlson added a win in the 200 butterfly at 2:07.76. In the 100 butterfly, Coonce won the event clocking in at 56.69.
Junior Kari Campbell was dominating on the boards for the Cowgirls. She won the 3-meter springboard with a tally of 308.48. She closed out her night with a score of 279.38 on the 1-meter springboard. Both marks qualified her for the NCAA Zones. Sophomore Keely Bishop also qualified for the NCAA Zones with a tally of 268.95 on the 1-meter springboard.
“I think we are in a really good place right now and we are on the right track,” UW diving coach Chelsea Popplewell said.
Colorado State Press Release
The Colorado State swimming & diving program held its home-opening meet Friday night, and despite competing in front of an Orange Out crowd, lost to Wyoming, 183-110.
“It was a disappointing home opener, but overall there were definitely some performances that were great,” Head Coach Christopher Woodard said. “It is always nice performing at home, though, especially with the Orange Out.”
Wyoming (2-0) won the first three races, but junior Jessica Shepard shot some life into the Rams (2-1) with a first-place swim in the 100 Backstroke (57.05). That would be CSU’s only first-place performance of the night, however.
“Jess trains very well, and you would not expect her to have this killer instinct that she has,” Woodard said. “She swam very smart in her races today.”
In addition to her 100 Backstroke win, Shepard also had second-place finishes in the 200 Backstroke (2:06.86) and 200 IM (2:10.49). In total, she earned 17 points in her three individual events.
Despite being unable to capture many first-place performances, CSU proved that it isn’t too far behind Wyoming, taking second place in 13 of the other 15 events. In addition to Shepard, freshman Katie Kicklighter (50 Freestyle, 23.90; 100 Freestyle, 52.27) and senior Tess Simpson (100 Breaststroke, 1:05.75; 100 Butterfly, 57.74) also had multiple second-place finishes.
In just her second collegiate meet, freshman Hailey Spratte finished second in the 500 Freestyle (5:17.08).
On the boards, CSU was very competitive. Wyoming’s Kari Campbell was able to win both diving events, but CSU earned 17 total points, including 2-3-4 on the 3-meter boards.
Senior Mary Kate Hardy earned a second-place score of 270.98 on the 1-meter boards and third place in 3-meter (279.15). Junior Ariana Milone also finished second (3-meter) and third (1-meter), posting scores of 281.25 and 269.03, respectively. Freshman Erin Taylor also scored for CSU’s diving team.
CSU will be back in action Saturday, Nov. 1, at 11 a.m. at Moby Pool. The Rams will host a double dual meet against Idaho and 2013-14 Mountain West champions San Diego State.
“We will learn from tonight,” Woodard said. “We’ll put in the work to get better.”
Results: Colorado State vs. Wyoming