Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Utah
CSU beats Utah after close relay finale
1/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Jan. 15, 2009
By Sarah Mast
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The Rams' swimming and diving team kicked off a three-meet homestand Thursday evening at Moby Pool, beating Utah 156-144 after out swimming the Utes by 12-hundredths of a second in a dramatic 200 Freestyle relay that closed the competition.
The win provides momentum for CSU (7-3, 5-1 Mountain West) as the team heads into two more home meets, on Friday and Saturday, including another conference showdown, with BYU. It also marked the first dual loss on the year for Utah (7-1-1, 1-1-1).
"Pulling out the last relay win was a nice finish," Head Coach John Mattos said. "Anytime you go against a top-notch group of athletes you want to perform against them, and we swam faster in a lot of areas than we have all season long."
CSU led from the evening's first event, but Utah threatened to overtake the Rams on several occasions, including the last leg of the last competition, that 200 Freestyle relay. But Breann Fuller, a freshman from Brighton (Colo.) High School inched her way past Utah's Jennifer Fredsall on the anchor leg, icing the Rams' win.
Several swimmers recorded season-best times at the meet, helping the Rams to record an important conference win.
CSU began the meet leading 59-34 after five events but found itself in a tight race for first, leading only 127-118 heading into the 1-meter diving event.
That was when junior diver Nicole Kelley proved to be a major component in the Rams' victory, placing first in the 1-meter competition with a career-high 272.55 points.
"Nicole Kelley winning the 1-meter was big for us," Mattos said. "Our girls are just on fire and they're focused, but we have to go right back into it tomorrow."
The Rams will face a difficult BYU team Friday at 6 p.m. MST at Moby Pool. BYU (2-0, 2-0) currently is tied for first place in the Mountain West and is expected to be a tough opponent for the CSU team.
"Our girls are going to be tight and sore tomorrow," Mattos said. "We have a different order of events, but BYU is going to be tough to beat."
The Rams then finish the grueling weekend with a home meet against New Mexico State on Saturday, at noon MST.
