Grand Canyon v. Air Force v. New Mexico State v. Idaho (W)
- November 8, 2019
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Results
Courtesy: Grand Canyon Athletics
The Grand Canyon women’s swimming and diving team went 4-1 over the weekend in Phoenix, where it hosted Air Force and New Mexico State in a two-day dual meet and also faced Idaho on Friday.
The Lopes beat Idaho and were victorious against New Mexico State twice while splitting with Air Force to move the women to an 8-1 record.
“The women’s team was absolute warriors for us this weekend and fought for every point, was really impressive in getting wins over Idaho, New Mexico State and Air Force,” GCU head coach Steve Schaffer said. “Almost everyone contributed to the wins and just did a fantastic job of competing as a team.”
Day 1
The Lopes went 2-1 on Friday, beating Idaho 138-104 and New Mexico State 139-103 and fell to Air Force 130-112.
The GCU 400-yard medley relay kicked off the meet with sophomore Robyn Edwards, junior Marina McInelly, sophomore Emily Muteti, and Andrusak taking second place (3:56.06) and wining against New Mexico State and Idaho.
Andrusak had several high finishes with a first place in the 200 butterfly (2:03.82) and second place in the 200 freestyle (1:52.19), just .22 seconds behind the top spot.
Junior Alyssa Christianson claimed her first win of the season in the 200 individual medley in 2:08.06 and then claimed second place in the 200 breaststroke (2:21.10).
Freshmen divers Genevieve Pettit and Sara Lameiro Castellanos placed second in the dives. Pettit earned 194.05 points in the 1-meter dive and Castellanos scored 231.65 in the 3-meter dive.
Day 2
The Lopes finished Saturday with two more wins, beating Air Force 129.5-112.5 and New Mexico State 132-110.
To start off the day, freshman Briana Rittenbach, McInelly, freshman Cecelia Mayer and Muteti claimed second place in the 400 medley relay (1:46.45).
In the 100 butterfly, Mayer found her first win of the season (57.54) and Muteti took second (57.71).
Andrusak led the way with a distance hat trick with wins in the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:27.83), 400 IM (4:31.21), and 500 freestyle (5:05.92).
Tasmin Stewart placed first in the 1-meter dive with a score of 298.05, her first win of the season. Castellanos placed second in both the 1-meter (247.80) and 3-meter (229.95
“Overall, both programs are moving in the right direction,” Schaffer said. “We are excited to rest and see how we compete at the Purdue Invitational in two weeks.”
Up next, the Lopes travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to compete in the Purdue Invitational on Nov. 21-23.
Courtesy: Air Force Athletics
PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Air Force Academy women’s swimming and diving team captured victory in a quad-meet, defeating host Grand Canyon, 130-112, while also knocking off Idaho, 144-98, and New Mexico State, 154-88, Friday evening, Nov. 8, at the Fr. Edward Reese Aquatic Center.
The Falcons used the strength of their depth, as well as wins in five of the 13 total events, to sweep the four-team dual.
“Tonight our team stepped up and competed like champions,” Head Coach Colleen Murphy said. “We started off with a big win in the 400 medley relay, and kept rolling throughout the meet. Our team is competing well and came together for three big wins today, and we are excited for tomorrow.”
Air Force started off strong with the aforementioned 400 medley relay, as the squad of senior Heidi Schellin, junior Kylie Stronko, sophomore Emily Bardak, and freshman Sefilina Maile took gold.
Stronko, Schellin, and Maile ended up being the big stars of the meet for AF, as they captured the individual wins. Maile took first in the 100 and 200 free, while Stronko was first in the 200 back and Schellin in the 200 breast.
Meanwhile over on the diving board, senior Kayla Wofford was the top finisher in both events, as she placed second in the 1-meter and third in the 3-meter.
The Falcons will be right back in action tomorrow morning, Nov. 9, when they face GCU once again. Action against the Antelopes is set for 11 a.m. start time.
Courtesy: New Mexico State Athletics
PHOENIX – The New Mexico State swimming and diving team wrapped up its stay in Phoenix on Saturday. The Aggies fell to Air Force 136.00-106.00 and to Grand Canyon 132.00-110.00.
“Today our strengths were controlling our deck presence and mentally showing up after yesterday’s performance,” said associate head coach Rachel Judge. “We had some really great, season-best performances this weekend and we saw some promise from girls who were able to step up. We are ready to come home and compete against Northern Arizona in two weeks.”
Lauren Hemburrow picked up the Aggies’ first win of the day as she won the 200 Free by almost a full second with a time of 1:55.32. After winning the event yesterday, Airam Oliva-Aun had another strong finish in the 50 Free, placing second with a time of 24.02. Then, Jordan Andrusak finished second in the 400 IM (4:35.70).
Oliva-Aun also picked up a second-place finish in the 100 Free with a time of 51.87. Then, Ashley Reynolds nearly captured the 100 Breast with a 1:05.44 but Air Force’s Heidi Schellin just out-touched her with a time of 1:05.39. Then, New Mexico State finished the day strong with Oliva-Aun, Aimee Burton, Rachel Ponte and Neza Kocijan winning the 200 Free relay wiyth a time of 1:36.26.
The Aggies return to the pool when they host Western Athletic Conference rival Northern Arizona on Nov. 22 and 23. NM State’s divers are back in action at the Houston Diving Invite from Nov. 21-23.
Courtesy: Idaho Athletics
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Idaho swim and dive suffered a pair of losses on Friday, competing against Grand Canyon and Air Force in Phoenix. The Vandals will look to bounce back quickly, and take on Northern Arizona on Saturday.
Idaho was defeated by Air Force, 144-98, and Grand Canyon, 138-104.
Brianna Lucien edged out a win in the 1000-yard freestyle by less than one second, winning the race in 10:32.93. She followed that up with a dominant win in the 500-yard freestyle. Lucien won the 500 by nearly six seconds, finishing in 5:06.86. Teammate Alexa Teneyck finished third in the event at 5:14.15.
Heather Carbon won the 3-meter diving competition with 237.60 points. She also took third at 1-meter with 219.45 points.
Alexis Schmidt earned second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:50.38, setting a new personal best. Katie Hale placed third overall in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.24 seconds. Hale also took third in the 100-free, at 52.95 seconds. Aimee Iwomoto earned a third place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:23.06.
