The Air Force men and women each swept the competition and earned multiple dual meet wins this weekend at home. Their 2-day dual included Seattle, Northern Colorado, and South Dakota as the competition. The Seattle women swam to wins over South Dakota and Northern Colorado. Northern Colorado also came away with a victory on the women’s side ahead of South Dakota. Seattle swam ahead of South Dakota on the men’s side.
Air Force:
Day 1-
The Air Force men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept a multi-team meet at Academy’s Cadet Natatorium, Friday, Jan. 15. The men’s team (11-0 overall this season) defeated South Dakota (132.00-92.00) and Seattle (139.00-85.00). The women’s team (10-7 overall this season) defeated South Dakota (144.00-93.00), Seattle (134.00-98.00) and Northern Colorado (136.00-93.00).
In the first event of the night, the women’s team took second and third in the 400 medley relay. The team ofEmma Strom, Leah Weber, Maria Schroeder and Jinan Andrews was second with a time of 3:42.99 while the team of Elise Hart, Gaby Miller, Jenna Tasic and Jessica Chen was third (3:59.44).
On the women’s side, junior Genevieve Miller won the 1000 free with a time of 10:32.47 while Elisabeth Brechbuhl was second (11:04.98). Miller also won the 200 free (1:54.85) and the 500 free (5:08.58). . SeniorJenna Tasic won the 200 fly (2:09.82). Maria Schroeder won the 100 free (52.40) while Brianna Mount was second (53.81). The Falcons won the 200 free relay as the team of Andrews, Hart, Schroeder and Mount won with a time of 1:36.52.
In women’s diving, Jessica Horn was second in 1-meter with 258.75 points while Isabella Farrell was fourth with 217.35. In 3-meter, Horn was third with 255.35 points.
In the first men’s event of the night, the Falcon team of Devon Davis, Michael Barnosky, Steffen Mount andJordan Dahle won with a time of 3:18.33. Freshman Collin Green won the 1000 free with a time of 9:31.14.Michael Hannigan won the 200 free (1:41.96). Lars Knutson won the 50 free (21.03). Michael Barnosky won the 200 IM (1:54.95) and the 200 breast stroke with a time of 2:03.52. Sean Ledford won the 200 fly (1:54.06). Dahle won the 100 free (45.41). Kris Tillery won the 200 back (1:54.17). Kevin Jackson won the 500 free (4:45.40). In the final men’s event of the night, the team of Dahle, Mount, Davis and Hannigan won the 200 free relay with a time of 1:22.56.
In men’s diving, senior Nathanael Zillweger won the 1-meter with 273.90 points followed by A.J. Eckebrecht(263.70) and Erich Drollinger (261.90). In men’s 3-meter, Zillweger won with 315.45 points while Eckebrecht was second with 286.95 points.
The same men’s and women’s team will compete against on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 11 a.m. at the Academy’s Cadet Natatorium.
Day 2-
For the second straight day, the Air Force men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept a multi-team meet at the Academy’s Cadet Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 16. The men’s team (13-0 overall this season) defeated South Dakota (136.00-91.00) and Seattle (143.00-83.00). The women (12-7 overall) defeated South Dakota (149.00-91.00), Seattle (138.00-99.00) and Northern Colorado (143.00-97.00).
On the women’s side, the Falcons won the first event as the team of Emma Strom, Gaby Miller, Elise Hart andBrianna Mount won the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:48.36. Senior Sara Menke won the 1000 free (10:45.95) and the 200 free (1:55.45). Jinan Andrews was second in the 200 free (1:57.17) while Maria Schroeder was third (1:57.40). In the 50 free, Mount was second (24.55), Hart was third (24.85) and Jessica Chen was fourth (25.31). In the 400 IM, Genevieve Miller was second (4:40.77)and Georgia Sims was third ( 4:56.04). Schroeder won the 100 fly (57.67). Andrews was second in the 100 free (53.79). Hart was third in the 100 back (1:01.67).Genevieve Miller won the 500 free (5:12.47). Gaby Miller was third in the 100 breast stroke (1:09.57).
In women’s diving, Jessica Horn was third in 1-meter with 248.85 points. Isabella Farrell was fourth in 3-meter diving (220.35) while Horn was fifth (218.30).
In men’s diving, Nathanael Zillweger won 3-meter with 311.10 points. Erich Drollinger was third with 246.50. Zillweger also won the 1-meter (229.95) while Drollinger was third (241.70).
South Dakota:
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The South Dakota men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed in a multi-team competition at Air Force’s Cadet Auditorium on Friday and Saturday. The U.S. Air Force Academy men’s and women’s teams swept the meet.
The men lost to Air Force 268.00-183.00 and to Seattle University 268.50-209.50. The women also came up short and lost to Air Force 293.00-184.00, Seattle University 264.00-208.00 and Northern Colorado University 266.50-217.50.
The diving events took place on both days. On day one, junior Greysen Hertting won the three-meter dive with a score of 265.50 and came in third in the one-meter dive with 258.10. On the men’s side, sophomore Brady Saunders placed third in the three-meter dive with 244.90 and senior Chase Testa was fourth in the one-meter dive with 229.00
On day two, Hertting was second in the one- and three-meter dive with 244.65 and 243.30, respectively. For the men, Testa placed second in the one-meter dive with 267.40 and was also second in the three-meter dive with 253.00.
For the swimming portion, all individual events were held on both days. For relays, each event was only raced once.
Freshman Hunter Padgett placed second in a pair of events for the Coyotes. Padgett was second in the 500-yard freestyle on both days. Padgett clocked in at 4:59.15 on day one and had a time of 4:57.57 on day two. Padgett also tied for second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:47.50.
Sophomore Eric Erlenmeyer was second in the 50-yard freestyle with 21.64, freshman Dylan Moyer placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke with 1:00.64 and senior Ian Ford came in third for the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 55.04.
Two men’s relay teams came in third during the two-day meet. In the 400-yard medley relay, Ford, junior Jake Knowles, freshman Jared Thorson, and junior Greyson Heckman clocked in at 3:33.95. Knowles also joined freshman Christian Pospisil, junior Jonnie Batchelor and freshmanSteven Howell in the 200-yard freestyle relay and they finished with a time of 1:30.52.
On the women’s side, freshman Quinn Fawcett had a pair of top-three finishes for the Coyotes. Fawcett came in second in the 200-yard freestyle with 1:57.91. In the 500-yard freestyle, sophomore Katie Svendson was second with 5:23.25 and Fawcett was third with a time of 5:24.00.
Freshman Taylor Kidd had a third-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle and clocked in at 55.04.
For relays, senior Maggie Smith, freshman Abby Hollub, senior Hannah Veselik and freshmanTheresa Godlewski came in third with 1:52.27.
The swimming and diving teams are back in action Friday Jan. 22 and travel to Brookings S.D., to take on South Dakota State at 5 p.m.
Seattle:
Women-
The Seattle University women’s swim team moved into double figures in dual meet victories by defeating South Dakota, 131-105, and Northern Colorado, 126-110, Saturday in a collegiate swim meet hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy at the Cadet Natatorium.
The Redhawks nearly won the opening event of the meet for the second straight day, as Kaitlyn Overstreet (Cottonwood Heights, Utah), Annika Perry (Reno, Nev.), Jane Liggett (Portland, Ore.), and Paige Treff(Orland, Calif.) finished second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:48.87, just a half-second behind Air Force’s quartet and the ninth-fastest time in program history.
Treff repeated as the winner of the 50 freestyle, finishing the sprint in 24.31 seconds. Blaise Wittenauer-Lee (Portland, Ore.) followed with a first place finish in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:39.32.
Seattle U performed well in the 100 butterfly, with Liggett finishing in second place in 58.94 seconds and Overstreet finishing in fourth place in 59.78 seconds. Wittenauer-Lee continued her winning ways, coming out ahead by just 4/100ths of a second in a thrilling 100 freestyle with a time of 53.75 seconds.
Katie Rottman (Phoenix, Ariz.) finished in second place in the 100 backstroke with a mark of 1:00.21. In the distance freestyle events,Madi Lydig (Spokane, Wash.) finished second in both the 1000 freestyle with a time of 11:02.11 and the 500 freestyle in 5:22.40.
Wittenauer-Lee picked up her fifth individual victory of the weekend, winning the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.84, almost four full seconds ahead of Perry, who finished second in 1:08.75. The meet concluded with the quartet of Kelly Hartman (East Wenatchee, Wash.), Emily Gough (San Clemente, Calif.), Maddie Dickman (Sacramento, Calif.), and Sidney Pinger (Tualatin, Ore.) posting a time of 3:41.09 in the 400 freestyle relay.
“Another great day for our women, especially overcoming both South Dakota’s and Northern Colorado’s diving results in order to pick up those victories,” Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor said. “Blaise’s confidence is extremely high after the weekend she had, plus we got great performances from Katie, Madi, and Paige. As a team, we are feeling pretty good right now.”
Once again, the host Air Force Falcons cruised to three victories, including a win over the Redhawks, 138-99.
Seattle University (11-5) will conclude the dual meet portion of the schedule in two weeks, hosting Simon Fraser Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Connolly Complex Pool starting at 12 noon. Before the meet, Senior Day ceremonies will be held honoring those who will be competing for the final time in front of the home crowd.
Men-
The Seattle University men’s swim team continued its positive momentum from the previous night, once again defeating South Dakota, 126-113, as part of a collegiate meet hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy Saturday at the Cadet Natatorium.
“The guys did well today, showing the confidence they have gained in swimming at altitude over the past few years,” Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor said. “Morgan had a really good day today, and Jack did well in the 100 fly. This was a good weekend as we start pointing towards the end of the season.”
The quartet of Morgan Montemayor (Seattle, Wash.), Tanner Schelling (Boise, Idaho), Jack Baldoni (Applegate, Calif.), and Matt Morris (Lufkin, Texas) posted a season-best time of 1:34.23 in the 200 medley relay to start the meet. Austin Barnard (Mill Creek, Wash.) followed with a third place finish in the 1000 freestyle with a mark of 10:19.77.
Montemayor did well individually during the meet, first finishing second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:45.93, and then he finished second in the 100 backstroke with a season-best mark of 51.63 seconds.
Connor Webb (Hood River, Ore.) finished second in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:22.74, and then Baldoni came close in the 100 butterfly, finishing in second place by less than a half-second with a mark of 50.83 seconds.
In the final event of the meet, the 400 freestyle relay, Baldoni, Alec Barnard (Everett, Wash.),Mitchell Crossen (Puyallup, Wash.), and Jacob Morris (Tigard, Ore.) combined for a time of 3:15.71. Air Force once again won every event to sweep the double-dual meet, defeating Seattle U, 143-83, and South Dakota, 136-91.
Seattle University (4-5) will conclude the dual meet portion of the schedule in two weeks, hosting Simon Fraser Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Connolly Complex Pool starting at 12 noon. Before the meet, Senior Day ceremonies will be held honoring those who will be competing for the final time in front of the home crowd.
Northern Colorado:
Day 1-
USAFA, Colo. – The Northern Colorado Swimming and Diving team started up competition for the first time in over a month on Friday evening, competing in a quad meet and going 1-2 on the night. The Bears defeated South Dakota 131-111, but fell to Seattle 128-108 and Air Force 136-93.
“I thought the girls did really well,” head coach Kelly McClanahan said. “We didn’t pull out all three wins like we wanted, but if you consider the fact that we only have 12 active swimmers – half as many as what most teams work with – the girls are putting up the best fight they can. It’s always tough to race up here at 7200 feet, too, and it’s definitely a game changer to come up to this altitude especially this being our first meet back from break.”
Both Jenny Brown and Carleigh Barrett swam the 1000 free for the Bears, taking third and fourth, respectively. Brown put up a time of 11:05.20 in the race, finishing just behind two Air Force opponents. Barrett clocked in just seven seconds later at 11:12.41.
Sydney Kovar touched the wall at 1:58.11 in the 200 free, finishing fourth overall and faster than any Seattle opponents.
In the 50 free, Valeria Mihhailova finished one of three swimmers with a time under 25 seconds (24.95).
Carleigh Barrett finished the 200 yard butterfly at 2:13.02, faster than any South Dakota opponent and second to one Air Force and one Seattle swimmer.
The Bears took silver and bronze in the 200 yard backstroke. Senior Elle Gawronska and newcomer Brianna Salanitro placed second and third, tallying times of 2:12.97 and 2:13.06, respectively.
The divers put work in on the evening as well, with Savanna Meadows picking up a first place finish (between the three competing schools in dives – Seattle did not participate) on the 1M with a score of 268.35 (another NCAA Zones qualifying score) and a second place finish on the 3M with a 256.40.
“Today was a good first meet back after winter break,” diving coach Chelsea Popplewell said. “We worked on a lot of little things over break and I saw a lot of those things tonight. There were a lot of jitters to get out since it’s been almost six weeks since we last competed, but tomorrow should be a fun day and we should continue to see some good improvements.”
The Bears jump right back into the pool tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. for a second go at the quad-meet. Next week the Bears will travel to Grand Junction toface Colorado Mesa on Jan. 22 (Friday) at 5 p.m.
For more information on the Bears this season, check out UNCBears.com visit the official Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter at @UNCOSwim_Dive.
Day 2-
USAFA, Colo. – The Bear swimmers and divers competed at the Air Force Quad Meet Saturday morning, mirroring their results from Friday evening with one win and two losses on the day. Against South Dakota, UNC earned a win 135.5-106.5, but fell to Seattle (126-110) and Air Force (143-97).
“Similar to yesterday’s performance, I thought the girls did really well today, especially since it was the second day of swimming in a row and we’re down quite a few swimmers,” head coach Kelly McClanahan said. “We have almost a week to recover now, so now that we’re back from break I’m looking forward to seeing the girls continue to compete and improve.”
Carleigh Barrett shaved five seconds off of her 1000 free time from yesterday, finishing at 11:07.10, which was third overall between all four schools. Another third place came for Barrett in the 500 free, where she finished at 5:24.13.
Sydney Kovar repeated her fourth place finish from yesterday in the 200 free, clocking in at 1:59.30, faster than any Seattle or South Dakota competitors. She also finished fourth in the 100 free, posting a time of 55.16.
Valeria Mihhailova was the lone racer to finish the 100 back in under a minute (59.02), earning top honors in the event.
Courtney Chrzas notched fourth place in the 100 breast, finishing at 1:09.58, just a hundredth of a second after the third-placer.
The Northern Colorado team of Kovar, Mihhailova, Sydney Kimura, and Karlie O’Connellfinished the 400 yard freestyle relay at 3:09.04, at least two seconds faster than any other relay team, picking up another first place finish for the Bears on the day.
In dives, Savanna Meadows picked up the top-placement on the 1M, posting a total score of 248.85. Her 3M diving score rose from yesterday’s meet, jumping up to 265.95 for another first place finish.
“Today was another good day,” diving coach Chelsea Popplewell said. “These two-day meets are really good practice for our conference meet and NCAA Zones. The girls pushed through and I was definitely proud of the energy that they brought today.”
Taylor Walsh also had a successful day in dives, earning fourth and third place finishes in the 1M (218.15) and 3M (239.20), respectively.
“We’ll have another opportunity like this weekend in two weeks when we come back for the Air Force Diving Invite. That will also give the girls another opportunity to dive platform so that we can see where they’re with the event.”
The Bears return to the pool next Friday when they travel to Grand Junction to face Colorado Mesa and Western State Colorado at 5 p.m.
For more information on the Bears this season, check out UNCBears.com visit the official Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter at @UNCOSwim_Dive.
Swimming news courtesy of Air Force, Northern Colorado, Seattle, and South Dakota Swimming & Diving.