New Mexico State vs New Mexico (Women)
- November 11, 2023
- Albuquerque, N.M.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: NM State Sports
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – For the fourth consecutive time, the state of New Mexico swims through Las Cruces as NM State defeated rival New Mexico 172-123 on Saturday afternoon at the Armond H. Seidler Natatorium.
The win for Head Coach Rick Pratt‘s squad also marks the third-straight win inside UNM’s home pool as the Aggies have yet to lose in Albuquerque since January 2020. In total, the Aggies finished with 10 individual first-place finishes in just 14 individual events against the Lobos.
After placing second and third in the 200-yard medley relay to open the event, the Aggies’ Katie Rink turned in a dominant performance to take gold in the 1000 freestyle as she reached the wall over 10 seconds before the Lobos’ top finisher who placed second.
The following four races also belonged to the Aggies as they claimed nine of the possible 12 podium spots. This stretch began with a podium sweep in the 200 free as Lindsay Puhalski, Naomi Slee and Dreamer Kowatch finished first, second and third, respectively.
NM State then secured the top two spots in the 100 back when Emily Dobbins turned in a 57.75 to earn first place while Thea Masselink out-touched UNM’s Iryna Tsesiul to claim second. Taylor Craft continued the trend of victorious Aggies as the freshman finished first in the 100 breast while Foteini Charitou added to NM State’s podium count with a third-place finish in the event.
Estel Galo and Ellen Osthelder then held down the 200 butterfly as Galo clocked in at 2:09.61 to finish first while Osthelder’s time of 2:11.38 was good for second place.
Seven events into the meet, UNM picked up its first individual win of the day in the 50 free, however, the Aggies’ Katie Rink, Kira Brownell and Callie Ceshker still scored points for the Crimson and White as they finished second, third and fourth, respectively.
Freshman Mira Tinani was the lone Aggie diver to compete in today’s meet and she did more than hold her own as she finished second in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events.
Following the 3-meter dive, the Aggies landed two on the podium in the 100 free as Emily Dobbins tallied a second-place finish while Dreamer Kowatch secured third.
The Aggies then retook control of the meet as Lindsay Puhalski’s first-place finish in the 200 back kicked off a stretch of four races in which the Aggies had the top finisher. With Puhalski pacing the group of backstrokers, Thea Masselink followed closely behind to reach the wall second.
The ensuing event also finished with a pair of Aggies in the top two spots as Kodi Wiman claimed first in the 200 breast while Foteini Charitou earned a second-place finish.
Yet another Aggie sweep was in order in the 500 free as Katie Rink, Naomi Slee and Estel Galo placed first, second and third, respectively, in the 10-lap race.
Faye McDonagh then helped the Aggies flex their muscles as she outpaced a group of Lobos to take the top spot in the 100 butterfly.
Later, Lindsay Puhalski earned a second gold medal as she completed the 200 IM over four seconds quicker than the next-closest competitor. In the event, the Aggies also secured a third-place finish as Riley Crespo helped the Aggies build on their lead.
AGGIE RESULTS
200 Medley Relay
2. L. Puhalski, Craft, Gyde, Dobbins – 1:47.39
3. Masselink, Charitou, McDonagh, Brownell – 1:49.19
1000 Free
1. Katie Rink – 10:38.11
3. Estel Galo – 10:48.89
5. Bella Marthaler – 11:05.77
200 Free
1. Lindsay Puhalski – 1:55.06
2. Naomi Slee – 1:55.51
3. Dreamer Kowatch – 1:55.78
5. Lina Khiyara – 2:00.12
100 Back
1. Emily Dobbins – 57.75
2. Thea Masselink – 1:00.07
4. Elizabeth Cervantes-Vanderlugt – 1:00.79
6. Bella Cratsenberg – 1:01.13
100 Breast
1. Taylor Craft – 1:06.53
3. Foteini Charitou – 1:07.53
4. Kodi Wiman – 1:07.83
5. Kathryn Gyde – 1:08.30
200 Fly
1. Estel Galo – 2:09.61
2. Ellen Osthelder – 2:11.38
4. Riley Crespo – 2:19.12
50 Free
2. Katie Rink – 24.45
3. Kira Brownell – 24.93
4. Callie Ceshker – 25.05
5. Naomi Slee – 25.18
3-meter Dive
2. Mira Tinani – 227.55
100 Free
2. Emily Dobbins – 52.47
3. Dreamer Kowatch – 53.72
4. Taylor Craft – 54.33
5. Callie Ceshker – 54.36
6. Lina Khiyara – 54.69
7. Elizabeth Cervantes-Vanderlugt – 54.88
8. Kathryn Gyde – 55.38
200 Back
1. Lindsay Puhalski – 2:07.27
2. Thea Masselink – 2:08.86
200 Breast
1. Kodi Wiman – 2:24.06
2. Foteini Charitou – 2:26.58
4. Riley Crespo – 2:31.32
6. Bella Marthaler – 2:34.31
500 Free
1. Katie Rink – 5:09.86
2. Naomi Sle – 5:12.47
3. Estel Galo – 5:19.60
100 Fly
1. Faye McDonagh – 58.01
5. Bella Cratsenberg – 1:03.06
1-meter Dive
2. Mira Tinani – 252.15
200 IM
1. Lindsay Puhalski – 2:10.25
3. Riley Crespo – 2:16.17
5. Thea Masselink – 2:17.14
6. Lina Khiyara – 2:18.04
7. Bella Marthaler – 2:18.05
Courtesy: New Mexico Athletics
Albuquerque, N.M. – The University of New Mexico swimming and diving team lost to bitter rival New Mexico State University in their first home meet of the season by a score of 172-123. The Lobos (0-4, 0-2 MW) swam and dove at home on Saturday for the first time in the 2023-24 campaign. They will host just one more meet this season in January.
The Aggies (2-2, 0-1 WAC) won their second consecutive dual meet of the season and won 12 of the 16 events on Saturday.
Western Colorado University also participated in the diving portion of the meet.
New Mexico took home four first-place finishes in swimming events and won both of the diving events in the meet.
The Lobos swept the relays, taking first in both the 200-yard medley relay (1:46.97) and the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:36.17). Freshman Sophia Corder, junior Katy McCarter, and senior Jordan Foster all appeared on both relays. Senior Iryana Tsesiul was the team’s fourth swimmer on the 200-yard medley relay and junior Brynn Quintana was on the winning 400-yard freestyle relay. The team’s time in the 200-yard medley relay was a new season-best.
McCarter single-handedly kept the Lobos within striking distance of their rival, winning each of her two individual events. She took home first place in the 50-yard freestyle event (24.33), out-touching the second-place finisher by just over one-tenth of a second. Following a short break in the swimming portion of the meet for the 3-meter diving competition, McCarter dove back into the pool in the very next swimming event to again pace the field in the 100-yard freestyle (52.47). Her times in both events were new season-bests.
Freshman Alice English and senior Kristen Hepfer won the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, respectively, for the Lobos. This was English’s first victory in the 1-meter event (253.05) of the season. Hepfer’s first-place finish in the 3-meter event (264.53) was not only her first victory of the season, but it was also a new season-best score for her in the event.
The Lobos’ six event wins on Saturday were the most they’ve won in a dual meet this season thus far. The team has improved in each meet so far this season, winning just two events against Colorado State and Air Force, four events against Northern Arizona, and then six against the Aggies.
New Mexico’s swimmers will look to continue improving as a team and aim to snap their four-straight losses to begin the season next month when they travel to Las Vegas to participate in the UNLV Invitational at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. That meet will begin on December 17th and wrap up on the 19th. The Lobos’ divers will be back in action next weekend, November 17th through 19th, at the Lumberjack Diving Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz.