New Mexico State vs Grand Canyon
- January 11, 2025
- Las Cruces, N.M.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: NM State Sports
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Before Saturday, NM State Swimming and Diving had not hosted a meet since Nov. 9. Additionally, this weekend’s dual against Grand Canyon was the Aggies’ final at home in 2024-25, prompting a Senior Day ceremony. After celebrating Elizabeth Cervantes-Vanderlugt and Lina Khiyara, the Crimson & White took down WAC rival Grand Canyon by a final score of 173-127.
The Crimson & White took the crown in 10 of 16 events on the day, landing on 28 of the 48 possible podium spots. Naomi Slee (3), Emily Dobbins (2), Dijana Mazumdar, Faye McDonagh and Katie Rink (2) all earned multiple first-place finishes, including the final event of the day. That quartet (excluding McDonagh) edged out Grand Canyon’s A group by nearly two seconds in the 400 free relay, capping off a 46-point victory for NM State.
The day began with a Lope victory in the 200 medley relay, but the Aggies salvaged a second and third place finish with their A and B groups, respectively. Dijana Mazumdar posted the quickest mark of any swimmer across the event, tallying a 50-yard time of 22.92.
Katie Rink and Estel Galo went 1-2 in the second event of the day; the 1,000 free. The former posted an even better mark than last time out at Utah Tech, clearing the competition by 11.95 seconds (10:20.26).
Naomi Slee earned her first of three victories on the day with a 1:50.98 showing in the 200 free, while Dreamer Kowatch claimed third place by finishing in 1:53.73.
Kira Brownell and Thea Masselink came to the wall less than a fifth of a second apart in the 100 back, with Brownell taking second at 56.88 and Masselink claiming third at 57.06, both marginally behind GCU’s Marta Guasp.
While three of the top five finishers in the 100 breast were Aggies, Foteini Charitou was the only one to crack the podium. The Greek sophomore came immediately behind two Lopes with a time of 1:03.83, just ahead of Faye McDonagh and Kodi Wiman.
While Paula Martinez of GCU took the 200 fly crown, Ellen Osthelder and Estel Galo rounded out a 2-3 finish for the Crimson & White as they recorded times of 2:06.29 and 2:06.60, respectively.
In the quickest sprint of the day, Emily Dobbins and Dijana Mazumdar took the top two spots in the 50 free. Dobbins edged out the two-time WAC Swimmer of the Week by reaching the wall in 23.44 seconds. Mazumdar, the true freshman, was right on Dobbins’ heels, finishing four hundredths of a second later (23.48).
Mazumdar would earn another shot at the podium shortly after, taking first place in the 100 free ahead of a pair of Lopes. The Sydney, Australia, native’s 50.69 mark was more than three quarters of a second ahead of the field, continuing her dominance in the event.
Naomi Slee racked up her second title of the day in the 200 back, coming in at 2:01.57. GCU earned second before Thea Masselink rounded out the podium with a 2:06.56 mark, earning her third top-three finish of the afternoon.
The 200 breast came down to the final moments, with Foteini Charitou falling to GCU’s Rapha Nakashima by a fifth of a second. Charitou improved on her Utah Tech time by nearly five seconds, however, and posted a 2:19.70.
As was the case with the 1000 free, Katie Rink ran away with the 500 free. The Arizona native cleared the competition by 6.99 seconds, leading the pack at 5:01.17. Estel Galo finished less than a second out of second place, taking third at 5:08.80.
Faye McDonagh made her first splash of the day in the 100 fly, pacing the pool at 55.89, just two hundredths of a second ahead of Grand Canyon. Ellen Osthelder wrapped up the last spot on the podium at 56.75, solidifying another three points for her squad.
The 200 IM also belonged to McDonagh, as her final 50 yards spanned just 29.45 seconds; quicker than any other swimmer in the pool.
The aforementioned 400 free relay saw two top-three finishes for NM State, led by Mazumdar, Slee, Dobbins and Rink. Dreamer Kowatch, Caroline Costantini and Kira Brownell all wrapped up their share of the Aggies’ B group, setting Lina Khiyara to anchor what was the final podium finish for her group on Saturday. The senior wrapped up her day of celebration with a 52.18 split that gave her side first and third in the event.
Diving stayed back home on campus at NM State, also taking command of the scoreboard. Mira Tinani took the 1M title with 245.33 points across six dives, while Peytton Moore (219.15) and Addison Pastiak (215.10) closed out a top four that included three Aggies.
In the 3M dive, Grand Canyon’s Lacey Neighbor came out on top with 269.70 points, but NM State’s Tinani, Pastiak and Moore finished 2-3-4, respectively. The Aggies took down Grand Canyon by a final score of 173-127, avenging last season’s defeat in Phoenix.
QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH RICK PRATT
“Today was a lot of fun and I am very grateful for the City of Las Cruces and their help hosting our dual meet in the natatorium. Abraham Celaya and his staff at the natatorium were so accommodating, along with countless others from NMSU who made today special. I feel greatly and very proud to be an Aggie today. Our team competed with passion and spirit, and it made for a great meet. Most of all, I am very proud of our seniors Izzy and Lina. They’ve led our team and sacrificed much for our program, so it was special to see the all the smiles today and celebrate their journey. We’ve still got some work to do and need to be focused on cleaning up some items individually, but our team is in a great place and we’re excited for the last push headed towards our championship meet.”
UP NEXT
After battling the Lopes, NM State will not return to action until Thursday, Jan. 30. The divers will head to Flagstaff, Ariz. for a three-day stint at the Northern Arizona Diving Invite. The following weekend, New Mexico will host a meet to wrap up the regular season in Albuquerque. The dual with the Lobos is set to begin at Noon on Saturday, Feb. 8.
Courtesy: GCU Athletics
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Grand Canyon women’s swimming and diving battled hard in Las Cruces before ultimately falling 173-127 to host New Mexico State on Saturday.
The GCU 200-yard medley relay opened the meet with a victory, posting a time of 1 minute, 41.95 seconds. The team consisted of junior Marta Guasp and graduate Raphaela Nakashima, junior Paula Martinez Moreno and senior Maria Brunlehner.
Martinez Moreno had an impressive performance in the 200 butterfly, claiming first with a time of 2:03.22, while Brunlehner delivered a strong showing in the 100 freestyle, finishing third in 51.53 seconds.
In diving, sophomore Lacey Neighbor led GCU on the 3-meter board with a score of 269.70 points to earn first place. Lopes freshman Brooke Woeslaw also contributed with a second-place finish in the 1-meter diving event, scoring 237.83 points.
Guasp placed first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.54 seconds. The Spaniard also secured second place in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:02.18.
Nakashima placed first in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:02.69, followed by GCU freshman Beth Young going 1:03.01. Nakashima also claimed a 200 breaststroke win with a time of 2:19.50.
The 400 freestyle relay, anchored by Brunlehner, finished second with a time of 3:26.44.
The Lopes return to Phoenix for Senior Day, when they will host California Baptist with the men’s squad for the final home meet of the season.
Saturday’s full results can be found here.
