Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
UNLV (Dual, Senior Recognition)
Rebels eclipse Rams in swim meet, 176-123
2/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 1, 2008
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Colorado State got another impressive performance from both its divers and sprinters, but the Rams couldn't overcome a deep and talented UNLV squad in a 176-123 dual-meet loss Friday afternoon at Moby Pool.
The swim meet marked the third straight loss for the Rams (6-3, 4-3 Mountain West), who opened the season 6-0 in duals. The Rams hadn't lost a home dual since a Jan. 19, 2007, setback against BYU. Friday also marked the last home appearance for seven senior student-athletes.
"It's always emotional when it's a senior day," said Head Coach John Mattos. "We're still in one of those funks where, it seems like the last three years, we're start the season like gangbusters, and then in the second half of the season - we're still swimming well - but we're just not on point."
Two of the seniors honored prior to the meet, divers Karin Knudson and Elyse Hall, captured the 3- and 1-meter competitions, respectively. Knudson posted a season-best 285.98 to run away with first on the 3-meter. Hall won with a 269.85 score.
"I like how they dove tonight," said diving coach Kevin Witt. "It was nice to be able to honor our seniors. They had a lot of friends and family here, and you could tell Karin and Elyse really made this night memorable."
Sophomore Nora Kennedy, a Fort Collins High School product, also had a memorable night. She was the only other CSU athlete to win an event, taking the 200 Butterfly. Teammate Annsley Lujan was right behind Kennedy, giving the Rams a 1-2 finish in the race.
CSU finished second in 10 of 16 overall events, but the Rebels' individual and relay victories proved too much to overcome.
A talented distance team, the Rams were within inches of a 1-2 finish in the 500 Freestyle, the night's most exciting race. Sophomore Kathleen McCleary (5:08.37) led much of the event, but UNLV's Bailey Kuestermeyer (5:08.04) eclipsed her on the last two lengths and wound up winning by less than four-tenths of a second. Senior Celes Parks finished a close third, at 5:09.09, her season best.
"You don't often see that," Mattos said. "It's a very frustrating position for athletes, where you swim a good race the whole way and then you got somebody who comes from behind by three, four body lengths in the last 50 yards.
"That was a great swim by Celes. She said, `You know in my 1,000, I didn't swim it right, so I came back and swam a great 500.' It would've been nice to see them finish 1-2 in that race. That would've been a big point swing for us, but it still wouldn't have won the meet."
Mattos added that he was pleased with his sprinters, especially Charlie Swearingen, a freshman who posted the Rams' season best in the 50 Freestyle, 24.44.
"Tonight was Charlie Swearingen's night," he said. "She stood out really well. Right now, she's our No. 1 50 Freestyler. Our 50 kids did a good job. Normally, they don't at this phase in the season; it's hard for them to break 25 (seconds), and they all were in the 24s. I was very pleased with that. So, our sprint crew is doing a real decent job."
Now, the focus shifts to the regular-season finale, a trip to Laramie Friday to meet arch-rival Wyoming.
"It's going to be just as tough of a meet as we've had," Mattos said. "If some of our kids who were really strong contributors last year, if they can't pull it together this next week, it's going to be a struggle. We're going to go up there, 7,200 feet, and we're going to struggle, because we're going to be more tired next week. But, Wyoming could be, too. So, we'll see who has the motivation to try to pull it out."
After that, the Rams will have three weeks off before embarking on the primary goal of every athlete's year-round training, to do well at the Mountain West Conference championship meet.
DIVERS HEAD TO AIR FORCE: Knudson Friday night registered her third NCAA Zone E qualifying score this season, and Hall recorded her eighth such mark. The duo will lead the Rams' divers to Colorado Springs Saturday to compete in the Air Force Academy Diving Invitational. CSU will dive only in the platform event, because it represents the only real practice they'll get prior to the conference championships. The Academy has the only platforms in the state, a 5- and 10-meter structure.
