Air Force vs Nebraska Omaha vs Liberty
- October 11-12, 2024
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- SCY (25 yards)
- Day 1 Results
- Day 2 Results
Courtesy: Air Force Athletics
USAF ACADEMY – The Air Force women’s swimming and diving team chalked up four dual meet wins over the weekend, outpacing Nebraska-Omaha and Liberty University on Friday and again Saturday. The Falcons claimed 11 first place finishes over the two-day event.
Friday, October 11
Air Force vs. Omaha: 174.00-68.00
Liberty vs. Omaha: 170.00-72.00
Air Force vs. Liberty: 128.00-114.00
“What a fun night of swimming for our team,” head coach Colleen Murphy said. “The meet between us and Liberty was close from start to finish. It came down to the last three events to decide the meet, our divers and breastrokers made it close and our final relay clinched the victory for the night.”
The Falcons claimed five first place finishes in the first dual, winning the 200 free (Alex Clark, 1:54.14), 400 IM (Jordan Evans, 4:37.28), and the 200 free relay team comprised of Clark, Ryan Mills, Lily Larson, and team captain Abby Turner (1:34.75).
The other top finishes happened on the diving side of the pool as the Falcons claimed the top three spots in both the one-meter dive and three-meter dive. Kacey Hu claimed the top spot on the one-meter dive (255.05), followed by Chloe Perkins (245.85), and JiaQi Deng (231.00). Perkins won the three-meter with a 281.40 with Annaliese Cundiff taking second (249.10), and Deng claiming third (240.80).
At the conclusion of the final race, Air Force had 21 swimmers and divers finish in the top three of their respective events.
“Tonight was a total team effort,” Murphy continued. “Our team showed grit and determination with this win, we are so proud of their fight to the finish.”
Saturday, October 12
Air Force vs. Omaha: 185.00-57.00
Liberty vs. Omaha: 174.00-68.00
Air Force vs. Liberty: 126.00-116.00
Air Force rolled the momentum into Saturday, putting up a weekend high 185.00 points against Omaha. Six Falcons won first place on the day.
“Our team really fought hard today and finished the meet strong,” Murphy said. “Shoutout to our breastrokers, divers, butterflyers and our final relays securing the win for the second day! For the second day in a row the meet came down to the last relay and our women stepped up to win.”
It was the 400 free relay team comprised of Clark, Mills, Larson, and Turner (1:34.75) to push the Falcons to victory in the final race. Clark also took first place in the 200 IM (2:08.26). Air Force’s Mandy Fleetwood and Abigail Hardy swam to first place in the 200 breaststroke and 200 fly, respectively.
Freshman diver Chloe Perkins brought the heat in the second day, winning both the one-meter dive (245.85) and three-meter dive (278.25). Teammates Cundiff and Deng finished second and third, respectively, on the one-meter dive. Cundiff also claimed second (239.65) on the three-meter dive.
At the conclusion of the meet the Falcons had 19 athletes with finishes in the top three.
Next up, the Falcons travel to Denver, Colorado, for competition on October 19. The women’s team will take on Denver and Washington State, while the men will go one-on-one with the Pioneers. The women’s meet against Washington State is a Mountain West Conference matchup. Action at El Pomar Natatorium is slated to begin at 11 a.m. MT.
USAF ACADEMY – Air Force outscored Nebraska-Omaha in back-to-back dual meets, Friday and Saturday, at Cadet Natatorium. The Falcons claimed 21 first-place finishes, highlighted by a sweep across all relay races.
Oct. 11, Air Force Academy 147.00 – 91.00 University of Nebraska Omaha
In the first of two duals, Air Force 11 top finishes and 19 in the top three. Chase Dowrnicki, Kai Tiede, Gavin Peterman, and Jacob Bulseco claimed the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay.
James Winterfield took first place in the 200 free (1:40.96) and the 100 backstroke. Teammate Evan Witte claimed a pair of first place finishes in the 400 IM (4:07.61) and 500 free (4:45.28). Other first-place finishes were Daniel Detjen (100 fly, 51.12), Bridon Rosales (100 breast, 55.58), and Kai Tiede (100 free, 46.92).
Air Force divers Alex Kenyon and Jack Roby won the one-meter and three-meter dives, respectively. Brady Nichol score was good for a second-place finish on the three-meter dive.
Oct. 12, Air Force Academy 154.00 – 84.00 University of Nebraska Omaha
Air Force continued to pour it on in the second meeting, winning first place in 11 events with 27 finishes in the top three.
Winterfield won the 200 IM and 200 fly, while teammate Witte won the 200 free and the 500 free. Winterfield and Witte combined for eight first-place finishes on the weekend.
Tucker Rice paced himself to victory in the 1000 free while teammates Dwornicki and Anthony Sebastian won first in the 100 free and 200 breast. The relay team comprised of Dowrnicki, Tiede, Gavin Peterman, and Jacob Bulseco claimed the two more relays (400 medley, 400 free) for a clean sweep on relay races over the weekend.
Kenyon claimed the one-meter title for the second time on the weekend, registering a 309.90. Brady Nichol posted a 290.10 to win the three-meter dive.
Next up, the Falcons travel to Denver, Colorado, to take on the Pioneers on October 19. Action at El Pomar Natatorium is slated to begin at 11 a.m. MT.
Courtesy: Nebraska Omaha Athletics
USAF Academy, Colo. – The Omaha men’s and women’s swim and dive teams came up short today at Air Force. The men’s team fell to Air Force in its only dual meet 147.00-91.00. The women’s team had three dual meets, two being against Air Force and the other against Liberty.
Between the men’s and women’s teams throughout their respective events, Omaha had 19 top-three-place finishes in individual events.
As for relays, the Mavericks had five units that could carry out the top three performances at Air Force.
Senior Owen Hoak found himself in the top three in three events. Two individual, and one relay team that resulted in a second-place finish. Hoak took first place in the men’s 50-yard freestyle event, putting up a final time 21.05.
Senior Payton Easley won the women’s 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.91 and finished second in the 50-yard freestyle, securing a time of 23.92.
In the men’s one-meter diving event, Omaha placed three of the top four finishers, including freshman Owen Kipp, who finished second with a score of 266.40.
The relay team of Stefan Varga, Mason Schroeder, Trevor Vocasek and Grant Schaeffer finished second in the men’s 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:33.04. Varga also placed in the top three in every event competed in at Air Force on Friday night.
Another Maverick senior, Nick Walkley, grabbed a third-place finish in the men’s 1000-yard freestyle event with a final time of 10:34.68.
Omaha also rounded out numbers two through four of the men’s 100-yard backstroke, with Schroeder finishing second at a 51.31 finish on time.
The Mavericks return to battle in the water on Saturday, October 12 at Air Force.
USAF Academy, Colo. – In their second day of competition at Air Force, the Omaha men’s and women’s swim and dive teams fell again.
The men’s team fell to Air Force in its only dual meet 154.00-84.00. The women’s team lost both dual meets this afternoon, one against Air Force and one against Liberty.
Between the men’s and women’s teams throughout their respective events, Omaha had 12 top-three-place finishes in individual events.
Omaha also showed four relay teams that finished in the top three.
Senior Owen Hoak also found himself in the top three in two events today. One individual and one relay team resulted in a second-place finish. Hoak took first place in the men’s 50-yard freestyle event, putting up a final time of 21.06.
Junior Stefan Varga found himself in first place at the end of the men’s 200-yard backstroke, putting up a time of 1:54.15.
Apart from the two first-place winners, the Mavericks finished six relay teams and individuals in second place.
Senior Payton Easley placed third in the women’s 100-yard freestyle with a time of 52.37. She was able to win it last night with a time of 51.91.
The Mavericks return to battle in the water on Saturday, Oct. 26 against Augustana in Omaha.
Courtesy: Liberty Athletics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Liberty posted a 1-1 record on day one of its season-opening tri meet against Air Force and Omaha, Friday at Cadet Natatorium.
The Lady Flames defeated Omaha, 170-72, while falling to the host Air Force Falcons, 128-114. Air Force beat Omaha, 174-68, to open the season with a 2-0 record.
These three teams will compete in another full meet tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. MT).
Liberty Event Winners
- 200 medley relay – 1:42.64 (Sydney Stricklin – 26.55; Aly Bozzuto – 27.93; Kamryn Cannings – 24.17; Kaycee Cannings – 23.99)
- Jr. Eden Troxell – 1000 freestyle (10:38.43); 500 freestyle (5:12.63)
- Fr. Aly Bozzuto – 50 freestyle (23.60); 100 breaststroke (1:03.80)
- So. Kamryn Cannings – 100 butterfly (54.80)
- Sr. Sydney Stricklin – 100 backstroke (57.35)
Notable
- The head-to-head dual-meet matchup between Liberty and Air Force came down to the final event, the 200 freestyle relay. The Falcons edge the Lady Flames, 1:34.75 to 1:35.30, to secure the event and meet victories.
- Liberty received two wins each from freshman Aly Bozzuto (50 free, 100 breaststroke) and junior Eden Troxell (500 freestyle, 1000 freestyle). Liberty sophomore Kamryn Cannings won the 100 butterfly, while senior Sydney Stricklin claimed victory in the 100 backstroke.
- The Lady Flames won the meet-opening 200 medley relay in 1:42.64, defeating second-place Omaha by 2.31 seconds.
Historically Speaking
- Liberty and Air Force are 1-1 all-time against each other in dual-meet action, with the Lady Flames defeating the Falcons at the 2016 Intermountain Shootout. This was the first meeting between Liberty and Omaha in swimming & diving.
- Bozzuto is the first Liberty freshman since Maddie Freece, Oct. 23, 2020 to win two individual events during her first collegiate meet. Freece won twice on one-meter diving at that meet.
- Prior to tonight, the last Liberty freshman swimmer to win multiple individual events in her first career meet was Gianni Pitto, who won three events (100 breaststroke, 100 breaststroke, 400 IM) on Sept. 29, 2018 at Campbell.
Up Next
These three teams will compete in another full tri meet tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. MT) at Cadet Natatorium.
