COLORADO STATE VS DENVER VS COLORADO MESA (WOMEN)
- October 24, 2025
- Fort Collins, Colo.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Mike Brohard/Colorado State Athletics
The entire swim season is about the build.
Not just for Christopher Woodard‘s Colorado State team, but the individuals who construct the roster. Depending on the point of the season and various factors, times will tell a competitor a story. With experience comes the knowledge in reading what they actually mean.
Now in her junior campaign, Tess Whineray has a better grasp of what her times from Friday’s double dual victories over Denver (157-143) and Colorado Mesa (218-85) are telling her. Freshman Quinn Whorley, she’s learning as this goes along, not only trying to build an inaugural run, but set the foundation for a career.
Coming from Lake Forest Park, Wash., she didn’t know exactly where to start her search, but she’s found clues in the early going.
“No, not really, but I think that practice is a really good way to start,” she said. “Woody and Lisa (Ginder, the associate head coach) push us and challenge us in a different way every single day. And the upperclassmen are kind of taking us along and showing us the ropes. So, I feel like that’s kind of the way that we’re starting to find a career.
“I think asking all the upperclassmen what’s going on, what’s happening. But then we’re also in charge of our own warm-ups. So, finding the ropes of how did the distance warm-up? How did the sprint warm-up? And then there’s all the fine-tuning in the races and, OK that wasn’t as good as last time. What can I do better? With me, it’s my walls. So, it’s always asking when my wall is good, how are my splits looking? Just continuing to ask those questions and get positive feedback from the coaches and the upperclassmen and the students.”
Whinery smiles at those days, which she full on experienced and maybe more so having come from New Zealand where she spent her entire youth swimming meters, not yards. At first, the times didn’t translate, nor did the idea there were so many walls.
As you advance in a career, you figure things out. When she posted wins in both the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes in the meet – common dual results for her – she could look at her splits and her finals times and tell if she is on track at this point or she needs some catching up to do.
The final verdict is she’s just fine, posting a 54.60 in the shorter event, a 2:00.34 in the longer one. And unlike Whorley, she has a baseline and a few All-Mountain West honors to her credit.
“It’s definitely a mental difference. I know where I’m at coming in, and I know where I want to be to be to get to my goals by the end of the season,” Whineray said. “I feel more confident coming into the season, because as a freshman you don’t know what’s going on, who you’re racing, anything. Now I really like the point where I’m at, where I can go, ‘OK, I know how to race it, I know how to get through a dual meet, and, yeah, just have fun with it now.
“That is really important, especially coming from meters to yards, I had no idea. Freshman year I was like, ‘OK, a 55, a 56, it means nothing to me. But now I know, if I’m hitting 54-mids this early in the season, that gives me confidence going forward, because my personal best is 53. That’s pretty close. And a 2:00, I’m happy with that. I can definitely read it and know at midseason I could go this time because of how I’m going so far.”
The dual meet was a build for the Rams, too. They had created some early separation with Colorado Mesa – the preseason No. 2 in Division II – but the scores were tight with Denver, and the Pioneers held a narrow lead after the first half.
A win in the opening 200 medley relay (Whineray, Claire Wright, Erin Dawson and Lexie Trietley) helped set the day in motion, but the only individual wins in front half came from Whineray in the 100 back, Trietley in the 50 free, with teammate Azalea Shepherd taking second.
The 100 free started the back half, which is where the Rams started to take off as Shepherd led a 1-2-3 finish from the outside lane, leading Trietley to the wall while Mia Axelman blazed in the second heat. The result was great for that race alone but also carried a double meaning to Woodard.
The 400 free team is starting to look competitive and build depth.
“That has options. The 100 free supercharged us, and then we go 1-2 in the (200) back and that kind of sent us off, but yeah, we’re really happy,” Woodard said. “We’ve got legitimately six-to-eight 100 freestylers who could really play around for an ‘A’ relay spot. We know we’ve got one or two lockdowns, but everybody else in there gives us depth as well. So, having an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ is good, and I think that’s true of our medley as well. I’m really happy with our relays.”
The build continued, as Sophia Hemingway was second to Whineray in the 200 back, then Dawson posted victories in the 500 free and the 200 individual medley to keep the Rams moving forward. Diving was taking place at the same time, so no one was actually sure how those scores would factor in, but finding out Maggie Di Scipio won the 3-meter and Sydney Ovesen was second on the 1-meter helped.
Then the proof came in the final event, the 400 free, with the squad of Shepherd, Axelman, Whineray and Trietley winning. And to prove Woodard’s point further, Ashlyn Hembree’s first 100 for the ‘B’ squad was the fastest opening leg. Those results sealed the win, making it seven dual victories in a row for the Rams, dating back to last season.
Whineray is one of the conference’s best backstrokers, but she’s still trying to sort out a third event or if all five relays are in her future.
“I like being on the relays, which is fun. Woody does like the 200 free option. I would like the 50 free option more,” she said with a smile. “Whatever the team needs, I can do it, because it’s not on a day when I have backstrokes because now the conference lineup is different. I have 200 free on the same day as the 100 back, but now they’re split. So, there’s a possibility that I could do that, and it wouldn’t interfere with anything else. But I’d like to do the 50 free.”
Whorley knows what her future will hold, and that will be distance freestyle.
She scored points in both the 500 and 1,000 frees on the day, and she scored well in the first invitational of the season. In each instance Friday, she built throughout the race to a better finish than where she stood at the midpoint.
“I really enjoy distance swimming because I get to find that rhythm and find ways to stay in it. I don’t do well with the splash-and-dash, whatever they call them,” Whorley said. “I just really enjoy the longer races because I kind of get to get into the rhythm and stay there. I would say I’ve always kind of been that way. That’s been my thing.”
As for the swimming thing and figuring it out on the college level, she’s not alone. There are 12 freshmen on the squad this season, nine of them in the lanes and three divers. That presents a dynamic the coaching staff must face in the early going.
Setting expectations is just the first step. Teaching them how to read the signs comes later.
“You want to educate them on, OK, what is it going to feel like at altitude, and what are some of the things that we want to do?” Woodard said. “At the same time, do not get overly analytical or excuse it, because the bottom line is it’s still racing. You have to go no matter what. I don’t care whether we’re at 7,200 feet or down at sea level. So yeah, it’s a balancing act.
The first helpful part for Whorley is having the fellow freshmen with her, all of them learning along at the same time. They are the biggest part of the team, saying it makes them all feel less alone.
The second part is the upperclassmen, who she says have built an atmosphere which is positive, engaging and allows for an encouraging headspace. She points to some quality early season swims as an example of what that creates. The upperclassmen, they know what it’s like, and have taken steps to help created a safe space from which to grow.
“I’m trying to approach them more, because as a freshman, I wouldn’t have gone out to anyone to ask questions or anything,” Whineray said. “I feel if I can go and help them, if they have a question that they are too scared to ask, then I can be there already.”
Learning to build a season, even a debut one, is the first step to constructing a career.
Courtesy: Denver Athletics
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The University of Denver women’s swimming and diving program earned a double dual split in a meet with Colorado State and Colorado Mesa on Friday afternoon at the Edora Pool Ice Center.
TEAM SCORES:
Denver 220, Colorado Mesa 82
Colorado State 157, Denver 143
EVENT WINNERS:
Women’s 200 Free – Samantha Synsvoll – 1:51.75
Women’s 100 Breast – Sabrina Rachjaibun – 2:04.94
Women’s 1-Meter Dive – Savanna Berry – 263.80
Women’s 200 Breast – Peyton Mullowney – 2:20.84
Women’s 100 Fly – Julia Saxman – 55.92
EVENT BY EVENT RECAP:
Denver opened the meet with a second-place finish in the women’s 200 medley relay when the quartet of Ali Beay, Tenaya Winter, Julia Saxman and Angie Wyand combined for a time of 1:43.18.
In the first distance swim of the day, the Pioneers took three of the top five spots in the women’s 1000 free. Nika Spehar led the Denver trio with a second-place finish in a time of 10:33.22, Genevieve Franklin clocked in at 10:37.39 to finish right behind Spehar in third and Paige Reilly took fifth in 10:45.82.
Samantha Synsvoll got Denver’s first win of the afternoon with her time of 1:51.75 in the women’s 200 free, her third event win in as many meets to start her freshman season.
Another Denver trio took spots 2-4 in the 100 back. Beay grabbed second in 56.18, Lilly Zippel finished third in 56.78 and Darian Koler clocked in at 57.29 to take fourth.
Sabrina Rachjaibun got Denver back in the win column in the 200 fly, pairing with Mina Ada Solaker for a 1-2 finish in the event. Rachjaibun reached the wall in 2:04.94, a full five seconds clear of the rest of the field.
In diving that ran concurrently to the swimming action at EPIC on Friday, Savanna Berry earned the event win on the 1-meter board with her tally of 263.80. Freshman Tatum Brasfield finished third with a score of 242.55.
Peyton Mullowney won Denver’s fourth event of the afternoon with her time of 2:20.84 to take the 200 breast title. Zippel swam the event in 2:22.42 to take third.
Freshman Julia Saxman continued her impressive start to her rookie campaign with a 55.92 to take the 100 fly event.
Back to the diving board, Kaitlin Calvery led Denver’s divers on the 3-meter board, taking second with a score of 259.20. Berry was right behind her teammate in third with a 249.90.
In the final individual swimming event of the weekend, Zippel took second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:07.32, and Synsvoll closed her October with a 2:09.18 to take third.
Denver closed the meet with a second-place finish in the 400 free relay when Winter, Izzy Burton, Saxman and Wyand turned in a 3:29.41.
UP NEXT:
Denver will leave the state for the first time next weekend. Denver’s women will head to Washington State on Friday (4 p.m. MT) and Idaho on Saturday (3 p.m. MT), while the Denver men travel to Cal Baptist for a two day double dual with Cal Baptist and UCSB.
Courtesy: Colorado Mesa Athletics
FORT COLLINS, Colo.— Senior Olivia Hansson and junior Antonia Leese each won an event and took second in another to lead the Colorado Mesa University women’s swimming & diving team’s effort in a Friday afternoon double-dual against NCAA Division I opponents Colorado State University and the University of Denver here at the Eldora Pool Ice Center.
Official team scores were not currently available although the host CSU Rams claimed nine event wins, including both relays, to go 2-0 throughout the dual while the Denver Pioneers picked up five wins throughout the 16-team format while going 1-1.
Hansson won the 1,000-yard freestyle in ten minutes, 27.21 seconds and later took second in the 500 free in 5:03.77 while Leese claimed the 100 breaststroke win in 1:04.74 before turning in a time of 2:22.03 to finish second in the 200 breast for the Mavs, ranked second in NCAA Division II according to the initial CSCAA Top 25 Dual Meet Poll.
Kenya Meyer led the Maverick divers as she finished fourth in the 1-meter competition with 234.10 points over six dives while Juli Holt was fifth in the 3-meter with 233.35 points, just ahead of Meyer’s sixth place tally of 230.95.
Other highlights for the Mavs included a third place finish in the meet-opening 200-yard medley relay and a trio of fifth place finishes from sophomore Gabby DeLuna, freshman Abby Uhl and senior Tori Bartusiak. The relay squad of Taylar Hooton, Leese, Kiara Borchardt and Bartusiak finished in 1:44.78. DeLuna finished the 200 fly in 2:12.71, just four one hundredths of a second quicker than Amber Siverts, who finished sixth in 2:12.75. Uhl the 200 backstroke event in 2:06.06 while Bartusiak finished the 100 fly in 57.92 seconds.
After the relay and Hansson’s win in the 1,000 free, Kendyll Wilkinson paced the Mavs in the 200 free, taking sixth in 1:55.23. Wilkinson also led the Mavs in the 100 free, placing ninth in 54.76 seconds.
Hooton then led a Maverick trio in the 100 backstroke, touching in 58.75 seconds to place seventh.
Elsewhere, Reagan Horn was the top Maverick finishers in the 50 free, placing eighth in 24.61 seconds.
Hansson also led the Mavs in the 200 IM with a mark of 2:12.80 before anchoring the Mavs to a fifth place 400 free relay time of 3:36.03. Ada Qunell, Wilkinson and Borchardt swam the earlier legs.
The Maverick women will continue their season next Friday afternoon facing another NCAA Division I opponent in the University of Utah Utes in Salt Lake City. The fifth-ranked Maverick men will also take on the Utes after swimming at No. 24 Colorado School of Mines in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual on Saturday.
