New Mexico vs. Northern Arizona
- Nov. 1, 2019
- Flagstaff, Arizona
- NAU 169-131
- Results
Courtesy: Northern Arizona Athletics
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 1, 2019) – Northern Arizona University women’s swimming and diving earned a 169-131 over the University of New Mexico, improving its record to 2-2.
Fernanda Montiel and Elisa Rodriguez each posted two event wins, while Jenny Cheetham swept the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events for the Lumberjacks.
To open the meet, New Mexico won in the first three events (200 relay, 1000 freestyle, 200 free), keeping NAU down 36-23.
“We were in a hole after the first three events,” head coach Andy Johns said. “We are really happy with how we bounced back.”
Despite the lead, the ‘Jacks took other places in the top five, stifling UNM from scoring too high. In the relay, the ‘Jacks took second and third. Lainie Bell, Hope Williams, Maddie Seidl and Elisa Rodriguez clocked in at 1:46.04. Alongside them, Sarah O’Connor, Sara Jendbro, Lauren Hazel and Rodriguez came in third with a time of 1:48.37.
In the 100 backstroke, Fernanda Montiel (57.98), Bell (57.99), and Sarah O’Connor (58.21) earned the top three spots to even the playing field, 39-39.
The ‘Jacks flipped the lead from UNM to NAU (51-46) after the 100 breaststroke when Hope Williams took her first event victory with a time of 1:05.28. After the event, NAU kept its lead.
Northern Arizona added some insurance points before the first break with Maddie Seidl‘s win in the 200 butterfly, Rodriguez’s in the 50 free, and Cheetham’s in the 3-meter, and took the score to 90-64.
“We were solid,” Johns said. “It was really great to see them not be down after the first events.”
Northern Arizona went on to achieve first place in six of the last eight events, coming up in short in the other two.
Rodriguez’s second first-place win was in the 100 free, hitting the touch pad at 51.51, just seconds away to her fastest time of 48.90. Montiel found her second win in the event right after, the 200 backstroke, ending her swim at 2:05.60.
In a close race, Haley Mayhew posted a first place victory in the 200 breaststroke, beating UNM’s swimmer by 12 milliseconds, timing in at 2:24.64
Cheetham’s success on both platforms today means she qualified in both the 1-meter (281.70) and 3-meter (309.60) in the NCAA Zone Diving Championships. Last week, Emily Sharrer‘s scores qualified her.
“All three girls did new dives that they hadn’t competed in before and they all did pretty well,” associate head coach Nikki Huffman said. “We’re right where we should be at this time of the year and I hope to keep seeing them get better like they have been.”
After a win by Niamh McDonagh in the 200 IM (2:09.14) and again in the 400 free relay by Rodriguez, Montiel, Spielman and Miranda Nichols (3:29.73), the ‘Jacks secured their final score of 169-131 over the Lobos.
The Lumberjacks return to their home pool at the Wall Aquatic Center this next Saturday, Nov. 9 with the first event starting 10:30 a.m.
Courtesy: New Mexico Athletics
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The University of New Mexico women’s swimming and diving team competed against Northern Arizona in Flagstaff on Friday where the squad fell to the Lumberjacks by a score of 169-131. Senior Natasha Dark‘s scores from both diving platforms were high enough to qualify for NCAA Zone competition as she surpassed the standards of 265 points in the 1-meter and 280 points in the 3-meter.
Despite the loss, the Lobos had several outstanding performances including 18 top-two finishes in the competition. The meet was highlighted by a personal, lifetime-best from Dark who scored an exceptional 300.30 in the 3-meter diving event, good for second place. Dark also had a strong showing in the 1-meter, scoring a 275.33 and finishing second.
The Lobos notched five first-place finishes on the day from standout sophomores Hedda Øritsland and Bryndis Bolladottir, as well as freshman Olivia Bishop and Josie Carpenter. Senior Asami Terada and freshman Nicholle Toh were also part of the 200-yard medley relay squad that took first with a time of 1:45.02.
Øritsland had strong performances in her respective events, notching a first-place finish in the 100-yard fly, touching the wall at 55.04. The sophomore was also a member of the 200-yard medley relay squad that took first with a time of 1:45.02. Øritsland performed well in the 50-yard free, taking second (24.15), in addition to being a member of the 400-yard free relay squad that finished second with a time of 3:31.28.
Bolladottir was also able to grab a first-place finish in the 500-yard free, touching the wall at 5:09.65, nearly three seconds before the second-place contender. Bolladottir had a solid showing in the 1000-yard free with a time of 10:35.47, good for second.
Bishop continued her strong start to her inaugural season as a Lobo with impressive performances, stealing first-place in the 200-yard free with a time of 1:52.73, over three seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Bishop also notched a second-place finish in the 100-yard free, touching the wall at 52.35. The standout freshman was also a member of the winning 200-yard medley relay team (1:45.02) and the 400-yard free relay that finished second (3:31.28).
Carpenter captured her first gold medal as a Lobo in the 1000-yard free with a time of 10:34.19.
The Lobos also saw second-place finishes from Terada in the 100-yard breast (1:05.58) and the 200-yard breast (2:24.85), from sophomore Mari Aoki in the 200-yard IM (2:12.04), as well as from Toh in the 100-yard fly (56.50) and 200-yard fly (2:06.92). Freshman Camila Batista grabbed second in the 500-yard free (5:12.97) and freshman Andrea Mariscal Guerra also earned second in the 200-yard back (2:08.31).
The squad is off for a few weeks before heading to Dallas, Texas for the SMU Invitational Nov. 21-23 where it will face SMU, TCU, LSU, Fresno State, Incarnate Word and Missouri State during the three-day competition.
