Courtesy: Colorado State Athletics
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Due to a broken pump at Moby Pool, Colorado State’s women’s swimming and diving team will host the final home meet on the schedule at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.
The Rams will host Idaho, with the start time moved to 2 p.m., for the 16-event dual. The facility is limited to 100 fans, all of whom must wear masks while inside. The event will still be live streamed. The team will still honor seven seniors in the process – Kristina Friedrichs, Madison Hunter, Hope Jestes, Katie Leonard, Elsa Litteken, Kate Meunier and Abbey Owenby – though a more elaborate celebration will be planned at a later date back in Fort Collins.
Colorado State is off to a 10-0 start to the season, coming off three dual wins this past week. It is the best start for the program since the 2000-01 season, when the Rams finished 10-0 that year, which has raised their expectations. Idaho has had just one competition this season, a dual loss to Washington State at the beginning of the month.
“It’s always good to take on somebody not in our conference, and as far as our conversations, I want them feeling confident,” CSU head coach Christopher Woodard said. “The only kind of goals to have are big goals, and if you fall short, then you fall short. If you don’t shoot for them, you’re just handicapping, and that’s not something we want to see with our team.”
The troubles with Moby Pool have also altered the team’s training, which is now being split between the pool at the Glenn Morris Fieldhouse and the CSU Rec Center. Having come off a pandemic-altered season, head coach Christopher Woodard said his team has adapted well.
Adding to the changes, the pool at the fieldhouse is 30 meters, not 25 yards, and practice times have had to be altered.
“I think we all groaned and threw ourselves a pity-party for a hot minute, and then it was very much like, we can make this work,” Woodard said. “I definitely have to shout-out to our captains and our senior leadership. They were the first ones to say, let’s make the best of this, this is really cool, it’s kind of unusual, we’re learning about another pool in another part of campus. I think after the first initital shock and throwing their schedules into a bit of chaos, they came around really quick.”
This will mark four meets in seven days for the Rams, who will be away from competition for two weeks afterward before heading to Wyoming for a double dual with the Cowgirls and Colorado School of Mines on Nov. 5. Two weeks later, CSU closes out the pre-winter break portion of the schedule in Houston at the Phill Hansell Invitational (Nov. 18-20)
At this point of training, the Rams would normally be heading in one direction, but with the pump at the Moby Pool not expected to be fixed before Nov. 1, Woodard and his team will have to make another adjustment.
“Normally at this point of the season the next step we would be taking would be moving down on our intervals and boosting some volume, so that we can effectively rest come midseason and recalibrate come December,” Woodard said. “With the loss of our pool, we have to shift gears a little bit. We’re losing a little bit of time, so I think we have to be razor sharp in terms of what we do and maybe focus a little bit more on the quality of the work and not necessarily the quantity or the target times.”
Rams in the Mountain West Top 10
- Maya White, 1,000 free, 10:13.17a
- Abbey Owenby, 1,000 free, 10:25.98a
- Liza Lunina, 200 back, 2:03.05a
- Emily Chorpening, 1,000 free, 10:32.95a
- Maisy Barbosa, 400 IM, 4:25.17a
- Madison Hunter, 1,000 free, 10:35.64a
- Kristina Friedrichs, 100 free, 51.77a
- Kristina Friedrichs, 50 free, 23.62
- Anika Johnson, 200 free, 1:53.09a
- Liza Lunina, 100 back, 57.56a
- Maisy Barbosa, 200 back, 2:05.21a
- Katie McClelland, 100 breast, 1:04.95a
- Maya White, 500 free, 5:03.21a
- Hannah Sykes, 200 fly, 2:06.45a
- Abbey Owenby, 500 free, 5:04.67a
- Kristina Friedrichs, 100 fly, 57.02a
- Maisy Barbosa, 200 IM, 2:07.21a
- Maya White, 400 IM, 4:31.21a
