Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, October 15
Fort Collins, CO
4:00 PM
Colorado State
165
vs
135
Denver
Team Preparing to Go the Distance
10/15/2021 9:03:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Pair of 1-2-3 sweeps in long freestyles help Rams topple Denver
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – They came into the season talking a good plan. Better yet, it's being executed.
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After sweeping the opening weekend of seven duals at the Intermountain Shootout, Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team hosted Denver for Pink Out meet on Friday at Moby Pool, a squad the Rams have had trouble with in the past. Last year's narrow victory over the Pioneers snapped a 10-meet losing skid.
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This victory, 165-135, was even more impressive, and now, so are their goals.
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"I think we're taking it one meet at a time. End goal is always going to be midseason and conference, and then we're just going to take it one meet at a time, try to beat them as best we can, and take our races as we can," junior Sarah Mundy said. "We went into this, let's shoot for an undefeated season, and I think we're trying to prove that we are a really strong team. I think we're showing it so far, and I think our confidence is building, which is always encouraging."
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Colorado State did it with a blend of front-end speed and depth, and when it came to the two distance freestyle events, both at the same time.
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Freshman Maya White led a 1-2-3 finish for the Rams in both the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyles, with the same pecking order behind her of senior Abbey Owenby and freshman Emily Chorpening. They represent the first two collegiate wins of her career, but she's been impressive in both meets.
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Not that she expected any of it at all.
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" I think just overall, we did so well today," White said. "Being able to go first, that's pretty cool as a freshman, too. I'm pretty surprised by that, but I love it. I kind of had some expectations, but I was also expecting my freshman year, with adjusting to everything, it wouldn't be the same, it wouldn't be normal. I was just hoping to stay pretty close to my times, but this is a lot better than what I was expecting, honestly."
Â
For one, she was a bit timid about swimming and training in altitude, but she's found it has really helped her. Second, the team aspect is much better than anything she has experienced before, which has been a big boost for her in the water.
Â
She said she's not normally confident going into any of her races, but with the team support in practice and on deck at meets, she suddenly feels she has a strong backing.
Â
"It ups your confidence so much," she said. "I feel so much more confidence with this team. Everybody is cheering, and everyone's believing we can do it. It's like our confidence levels are way up there."
Â
Head coach Christopher Woodard calls her unassuming, as she really doesn't say a whole lot at any given time. Yet in the water, she speaks with how she attacks practice, and at meets, it shows in her races.
Â
She's now the fourth freshman of the six member class to have picked up a collegiate victory this year.
Â
"She is a jigsaw puzzle piece, and a very critical one," Woodard said. "She's somewhat unassuming. You don't necessarily expect it, but when you watch her race, she races with real intensity. It's really impressive. Sometimes it's unnerving when you're a freshman coming into a new situation, that's all of our freshman, but I think Maya races with some attitude."
Â
The whole team is, which Mundy is very much enjoying.
Â
She's seen a transformation in the team approach each season, and she expects this to be the next step forward.
Â
"Every year so far has been growth and growth and growth," she said after swimming legs on both the victorious 200 medley and freestyle races, as well as a pair of top-four finishes in individual races. "It has been performance-wise and team-dynamic wise, and just going into everything with a certain mindset. Being able to switch that is really important. Freshman year, we were like, we're not the underdogs. This year, we're proving it. We're definitely coming in strong, coming in hot."
Â
They did so by winning half of the day's events. Freshman diver Lindsay Gizzi kickstarted it on the 3-meter board, and she later finished second on 1-meter. After the 200 medley team won, so too did White in the 1,000, then Anika Johnson in the 200 free.
Â
Down the road, Kristina Friedrichs won both the 50 and 100 frees (and was on both winning relays), and White won her second race. The remainder of the team backed those performances with quality swims to add to the total.
Â
Liza Lunina was second in both backstroke races, Kate Meunier had a trio of top-five finishes, as did Maisy Barbosa; Katie McClelland, Megan Hager, Hannah Sykes, diver Jozie Meitz, Johnson and Emma Breslin had two each.
Â
"It is not only our depth, but maybe some unsung heroes who came in with seconds, thirds and fourths," Woodard said. "Them not getting down when DU put the hurt on us in a couple of events ... Sometimes that momentum shift can really carry over, and I think they really put the kibosh on that."
Â
Woodard knew what his team is capable of, but what he feels best about is his team now fully realizes it, too. They're not just talking a good game, they're performing at a level to back it up.
Â
What they wanted was all well and good, but they had to prove it to themselves every time they stepped on a board or onto their blocks. Two competitions in succession, the Rams have done that, and it's created an attitude.
Â
A very positive and meaningful one.
Â
"There were some really good performances that raise your confidence and make your attitude a lot better. I think even when you have those hard races where we get 2-3 or 3-4, you have to switch that attitude that we can come back from it and really push it harder," Mundy said. "Behavior is contagious and attitudes are contagious, so keep it positive. That's something we've been really good with in practice, too. We have really positive attitudes and the performances show. It's like a whole circle around performance and attitude."
Â
Now 8-0 on the season, the weekend continues Saturday for the team as they travel to Colorado School of Mines for a double dual with the hosts and the University of Mary. Swimming is set to begin at 10 a.m. Â
Â
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After sweeping the opening weekend of seven duals at the Intermountain Shootout, Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team hosted Denver for Pink Out meet on Friday at Moby Pool, a squad the Rams have had trouble with in the past. Last year's narrow victory over the Pioneers snapped a 10-meet losing skid.
Â
This victory, 165-135, was even more impressive, and now, so are their goals.
Â
"I think we're taking it one meet at a time. End goal is always going to be midseason and conference, and then we're just going to take it one meet at a time, try to beat them as best we can, and take our races as we can," junior Sarah Mundy said. "We went into this, let's shoot for an undefeated season, and I think we're trying to prove that we are a really strong team. I think we're showing it so far, and I think our confidence is building, which is always encouraging."
Â
Colorado State did it with a blend of front-end speed and depth, and when it came to the two distance freestyle events, both at the same time.
Â
Freshman Maya White led a 1-2-3 finish for the Rams in both the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyles, with the same pecking order behind her of senior Abbey Owenby and freshman Emily Chorpening. They represent the first two collegiate wins of her career, but she's been impressive in both meets.
Â
Not that she expected any of it at all.
Â
" I think just overall, we did so well today," White said. "Being able to go first, that's pretty cool as a freshman, too. I'm pretty surprised by that, but I love it. I kind of had some expectations, but I was also expecting my freshman year, with adjusting to everything, it wouldn't be the same, it wouldn't be normal. I was just hoping to stay pretty close to my times, but this is a lot better than what I was expecting, honestly."
Â
For one, she was a bit timid about swimming and training in altitude, but she's found it has really helped her. Second, the team aspect is much better than anything she has experienced before, which has been a big boost for her in the water.
Â
She said she's not normally confident going into any of her races, but with the team support in practice and on deck at meets, she suddenly feels she has a strong backing.
Â
"It ups your confidence so much," she said. "I feel so much more confidence with this team. Everybody is cheering, and everyone's believing we can do it. It's like our confidence levels are way up there."
Â
Head coach Christopher Woodard calls her unassuming, as she really doesn't say a whole lot at any given time. Yet in the water, she speaks with how she attacks practice, and at meets, it shows in her races.
Â
She's now the fourth freshman of the six member class to have picked up a collegiate victory this year.
Â
"She is a jigsaw puzzle piece, and a very critical one," Woodard said. "She's somewhat unassuming. You don't necessarily expect it, but when you watch her race, she races with real intensity. It's really impressive. Sometimes it's unnerving when you're a freshman coming into a new situation, that's all of our freshman, but I think Maya races with some attitude."
Â
The whole team is, which Mundy is very much enjoying.
Â
She's seen a transformation in the team approach each season, and she expects this to be the next step forward.
Â
"Every year so far has been growth and growth and growth," she said after swimming legs on both the victorious 200 medley and freestyle races, as well as a pair of top-four finishes in individual races. "It has been performance-wise and team-dynamic wise, and just going into everything with a certain mindset. Being able to switch that is really important. Freshman year, we were like, we're not the underdogs. This year, we're proving it. We're definitely coming in strong, coming in hot."
Â
They did so by winning half of the day's events. Freshman diver Lindsay Gizzi kickstarted it on the 3-meter board, and she later finished second on 1-meter. After the 200 medley team won, so too did White in the 1,000, then Anika Johnson in the 200 free.
Â
Down the road, Kristina Friedrichs won both the 50 and 100 frees (and was on both winning relays), and White won her second race. The remainder of the team backed those performances with quality swims to add to the total.
Â
Liza Lunina was second in both backstroke races, Kate Meunier had a trio of top-five finishes, as did Maisy Barbosa; Katie McClelland, Megan Hager, Hannah Sykes, diver Jozie Meitz, Johnson and Emma Breslin had two each.
Â
"It is not only our depth, but maybe some unsung heroes who came in with seconds, thirds and fourths," Woodard said. "Them not getting down when DU put the hurt on us in a couple of events ... Sometimes that momentum shift can really carry over, and I think they really put the kibosh on that."
Â
Woodard knew what his team is capable of, but what he feels best about is his team now fully realizes it, too. They're not just talking a good game, they're performing at a level to back it up.
Â
What they wanted was all well and good, but they had to prove it to themselves every time they stepped on a board or onto their blocks. Two competitions in succession, the Rams have done that, and it's created an attitude.
Â
A very positive and meaningful one.
Â
"There were some really good performances that raise your confidence and make your attitude a lot better. I think even when you have those hard races where we get 2-3 or 3-4, you have to switch that attitude that we can come back from it and really push it harder," Mundy said. "Behavior is contagious and attitudes are contagious, so keep it positive. That's something we've been really good with in practice, too. We have really positive attitudes and the performances show. It's like a whole circle around performance and attitude."
Â
Now 8-0 on the season, the weekend continues Saturday for the team as they travel to Colorado School of Mines for a double dual with the hosts and the University of Mary. Swimming is set to begin at 10 a.m. Â
Â
Players Mentioned
BK, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, BR
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BR, FLY, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FREE
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, FLY
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FREE, FLY, BACK
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BREAST
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FREE, FLY
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FREE
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FREE, FLY
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, BR IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving21-22 Swimming Schedule Video
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Saturday, October 26