Colorado State University Athletics
Utah outdistances Rams in swimming dual
1/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Jan. 19, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Senior diver Karin Knudson registered her season's highest score on the 1-meter board, and Kathleen McCleary won two events but Colorado State's late rally fell short in a dual at Utah Saturday night, 169.5-130.5.
The setback sent the Rams on a long ride home after finishing 0-2 on a weekend road trip through the state. Colorado State (6-2, 4-2 Mountain West) had been undefeated in duals when its bus left Fort Collins Wednesday. The Rams also sustained a loss at BYU Thursday.
"This was a difficult trip," said Head Coach John Mattos. "We're going to bus home tonight and we'll probably arrive tomorrow morning. Then, we get a chance to catch our breath, but we need to regroup."
The Rams regrouped Saturday after Utah captured six of the night's first seven events, and the rally started with Knudson. Dive for dive, the senior from Estes Park, Colo., matched Ute standout Kwan Ling Yu on the 1-meter board and, incredibly, each diver finished with a 262.12 score to tie for first. The mark was Knudson's season best and the performance inspired her teammates. Later, in the 3-meter competition, Yu held off a strong effort from Knudson and won by less than five points. It was Knudson's best all-around effort this year.
After Knudson captured momentum on the 1-meter, Michelle Price (2:05.61) edged Utah's Shannon McQueen to win the 200 Backstroke. The freshman from Fort Collins' Poudre High School has won all seven of her dual-meet races in that event this season.
"That's really when we started coming back," said Mattos, whose team finished in first four times over a six-event stretch late in the meet.
During that stretch, McCleary touched the wall nearly 4 seconds faster than all swimmers (5:08.98) in the 500 Freestyle, giving the distance specialist her second victory on the night. Earlier, she also outraced the field by nearly 4 seconds in the 1,000 Free (10:29.29). Demonstrating one of its clear strengths, CSU finished 1-2 in each event. Senior Celes Parks took second in the 500 and freshman Maddie Gamble was second in the 1,000.
Following McCleary's triumph in the 500, the Rams also finished 1-2 in the 100 Butterfly, where Nora Kennedy and Jennifer Muniz topped all swimmers.
But Yu's clutch performance on the 3-meter board then turned the tide for the Utes. Utah finished 1-3 in the next-to-last event, the 200 IM, and in the finale, two of CSU's three entries in the 400 Freestyle Relay were disqualified for leaving too early.
The Rams join the rest of their fellow students in beginning spring classes Tuesday. After two weeks of practice, the road gets tougher in CSU's next competition. The team hosts red-hot UNLV, who won a sixth straight dual Saturday in dispatching Air Force. The Rebels are 6-1 in conference.
The UNLV-CSU meet, Feb. 1 at Moby Pool in Fort Collins, will mark the last time this season fans will get to see the Rams in action. The team will recognize its seniors in what figures to be an emotional meet. The first horn sounds at 3:30 p.m.
