Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, January 23
USAF Academy, CO
12 PM
Colorado State
at
Air Force
Rams Poised for Back-to-Back Weekends
1/21/2021 2:00:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
CSU to revisit rivalry with Air Force for second time this season
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – On Saturday, Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team gets a second crack at a rival.
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The Rams travel to the Air Force Academy for a meet starting a noon, marking the second time the two squads have competed against each other this year and the first time this season CSU will compete on back-to-back weekends.
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Air Force won the prior matchup to start the season, 177-123, as part of a double-dual with Wyoming, also at the Academy. The Rams are 25-5 all-time against the Falcons.
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"We rarely get opportunities to face a conference foe twice in a year," CSU coach Christopher Woodard said. "We need to assess what we've done right in the past two meets and capitalize on that, then what didn't go right the first time and how do we address that. There's an element of competing."
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Colorado State is coming off a dual win against Denver, a victory which snapped a 10-dual skid to the Pioneers. The Rams won eight of the 16 events, with senior diver Rachel Holland winning both boards. Where he's looking for his team to improve comes on starts, specifically relay starts, and breakouts. The team is also taking a focused look at warmup and warm-down routines, which are very individualized.
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What has encouraged him is his team's ability to finish out races, which was something he didn't exactly expect with the breaks in training.
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"I think the one thing that's probably impressed me the most is their ability to come back in races, because we haven't necessarily had the consistency or the volume in training that we typically do," Woodard said. "It's what you usually need to come back in races. The fact they've been able to do that has surprised me a bit."
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The meet was originally scheduled as a double-dual to include New Mexico, but the Lobos' program announced last week it will sit the season out due to health protocols in the state keeping them from practicing to this point.
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After this meet, the Rams will host Northern Colorado in two weeks, the same weekend the divers return to Air Force for diving invitational. The Falcons are one of the few teams to have had a full schedule, with a 5-6 mark in duals (1-3 Mountain West) with just one canceled. Woodard said the team is thankful to have a season, even a limited one, but he also wants to see his roster expand to the next stage.
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"I think we continue to push to them where we're hopefully past the phase where we're just grateful for the opportunity. Not that we're going to be ungrateful obviously for anything we have," Woodard said. "OK, we're grateful for the opportunity, now what are we going to do with it? Can we continue to race smart? Can we continue to race tough at the back-end of the race?
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"That's my hope, that we're past the point of just the excitement of being there, now I'm excited to beat someone."
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Rams with Top 10 Mountain West Times
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 5. Abbey Owenby, 1,000 freestyle, 10:34.23a
 6. 200 medley relay, 1:45.41
 6. 400 free relay, 3:32.80a
 8. Elsa Litteken, 100 backstroke, 56.75a
 8. Jennae Frederick, 100 butterfly, 56.91a
 8. Kristina Friedrichs, 50 freestyle, 23.61
 8. Jennae Frederick, 200 butterfly, 2:05.61a
 8. Kendra Preski, 1,000 freestyle, 10:37.50a
 10. Kendra Preski, 200 butterfly, 2:07.95a
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a --Â Altitude-adjusted time
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The Rams travel to the Air Force Academy for a meet starting a noon, marking the second time the two squads have competed against each other this year and the first time this season CSU will compete on back-to-back weekends.
Â
Air Force won the prior matchup to start the season, 177-123, as part of a double-dual with Wyoming, also at the Academy. The Rams are 25-5 all-time against the Falcons.
Â
"We rarely get opportunities to face a conference foe twice in a year," CSU coach Christopher Woodard said. "We need to assess what we've done right in the past two meets and capitalize on that, then what didn't go right the first time and how do we address that. There's an element of competing."
Â
Colorado State is coming off a dual win against Denver, a victory which snapped a 10-dual skid to the Pioneers. The Rams won eight of the 16 events, with senior diver Rachel Holland winning both boards. Where he's looking for his team to improve comes on starts, specifically relay starts, and breakouts. The team is also taking a focused look at warmup and warm-down routines, which are very individualized.
Â
What has encouraged him is his team's ability to finish out races, which was something he didn't exactly expect with the breaks in training.
Â
"I think the one thing that's probably impressed me the most is their ability to come back in races, because we haven't necessarily had the consistency or the volume in training that we typically do," Woodard said. "It's what you usually need to come back in races. The fact they've been able to do that has surprised me a bit."
Â
The meet was originally scheduled as a double-dual to include New Mexico, but the Lobos' program announced last week it will sit the season out due to health protocols in the state keeping them from practicing to this point.
Â
After this meet, the Rams will host Northern Colorado in two weeks, the same weekend the divers return to Air Force for diving invitational. The Falcons are one of the few teams to have had a full schedule, with a 5-6 mark in duals (1-3 Mountain West) with just one canceled. Woodard said the team is thankful to have a season, even a limited one, but he also wants to see his roster expand to the next stage.
Â
"I think we continue to push to them where we're hopefully past the phase where we're just grateful for the opportunity. Not that we're going to be ungrateful obviously for anything we have," Woodard said. "OK, we're grateful for the opportunity, now what are we going to do with it? Can we continue to race smart? Can we continue to race tough at the back-end of the race?
Â
"That's my hope, that we're past the point of just the excitement of being there, now I'm excited to beat someone."
Â
Rams with Top 10 Mountain West Times
Â
 5. Abbey Owenby, 1,000 freestyle, 10:34.23a
 6. 200 medley relay, 1:45.41
 6. 400 free relay, 3:32.80a
 8. Elsa Litteken, 100 backstroke, 56.75a
 8. Jennae Frederick, 100 butterfly, 56.91a
 8. Kristina Friedrichs, 50 freestyle, 23.61
 8. Jennae Frederick, 200 butterfly, 2:05.61a
 8. Kendra Preski, 1,000 freestyle, 10:37.50a
 10. Kendra Preski, 200 butterfly, 2:07.95a
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a --Â Altitude-adjusted time
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