Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, October 28
Denver, CO
3:30 PM
Colorado State
152
at
148
Denver
Final Event Vaults Rams in Front
10/28/2022 9:43:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Dual streak extended with 1-3 finish in 400 free relay
DENVER, Colo. – At the end, it required everything they had.
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To keep its unbeaten dual streak going, Colorado State women's swimming and diving had to have a win in Friday's final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. To avoid a tie, the Rams needed both quads to score points. Getting separating splits from Anika Johnson and Alexis Trietley to win the race, and then more of the same on the 'B' squad, the Rams overcame a five-point deficit to post the tightest finish in their current run with a 152-148 victory at Denver.
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"That's when I know my team is in it, when they keep asking me what the score is," CSU head coach Christopher Woodard said. "They knew what they had to do pretty much throughout the meet. The gutted out some great wins, and there were some great fourth- and fifth-place finishes as well to keep us within range. The relays, they were ready to go. They were super pumped, and when the B relay touched third, that's when everybody erupted. We needed that or otherwise it would be a tie."
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It was the 17th consecutive dual win for the program, which began last year with a perfect 14-0 mark. The score with the Pioneers matched the result with Wyoming last season, but the Rams led going into the final race on that date.
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Lucy Matheson helped pace the effort out front, winning all three of her individual races, both the 100 and 200 backstrokes, as well as the 100 butterfly. None of her events were particularly close, but it was her approach which struck Woodard.
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"Lucy tends to get a little anxious and likes to talk and go over race strategy. I think this is one of the few times where she didn't approach me at all," he said. "She felt like she was really in control of what she needed to do. What impressed me the most was, yeah, she got out, but she took control of the back half of the race. She was doggedly determined no one was going to touch her."
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Overall, Colorado State won nine of the 16 events, with Trietley a double winner in the 50 and 100 freestyles in times which were very close to those she posted at the season-opening Chick-fil-A Invitational.
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She closed her day with the best split in the final relay, a 50.03.
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"She's a hammer and every problem in front of her is a nail, and lucky for us, she's a ball peen hammer; she has some weight behind her," Woodard said. "She just crushes it. She sees open water and takes off. If she sees somebody in front of her, she's like, no, that's not going to happen. Her fight continues to impress me. Her adaptation to the workload continues to impress me.
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"But it really was a joint effort. All the freestylers up and down the line, our 200 strokers, were fantastic. This is the definition of a total team effort."
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Johnson, whose 51.71 split in the 400 relay was the second-best of the event, won the 200 free, with Maya White taking top honors in the 1,000 free. In the 50 free, there was the odd three-way tie for third, with Sarah Mundy and Azalea Shepherd part of the equation.
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The final win came from Amanda Hoffman, whose 2:02.74 in the 200 butterfly was her best in-season time and very much in the neighborhood of her best, which sits fourth in program history. Making her day better, she produced a third-place showing in the 100 version of the event.
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"I would wager to say it's in the top six of the conference at this time," Woodard said of Hoffman's 200. "She knows how to race that, but what's even more impressive is sometimes she can struggle in the 100, but it was her ability to come back and light that one up too."
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The team's depth made a difference in the final result. The divers took part in a dual for the first time, with Jessica Albanna placing second on the 3-meter board, while Braeden Shaffer and Jozie Meitz, both of whom have been struggling with injuries, added points in the two diving events.
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Erin Dawson had a pair of runner-up showings (500 free and 200 individual medley), Johnson was right behind Trietley in the 100 free and Katie McClelland was second in the 200 breast and third in the 100 breast. The meet opened with Matheson, McClelland, Johnson and Trietley placing second in the 200 medley relay. Getting depth points was key, and the Rams did their part.
Â
But in the end, they needed both relay teams to score, making the deck tense with the final start. As the top team, which included Megan Hager and Mundy, did it's part, senior Liza Lunina put up a strong lead-off leg for her squad, and the three who followed her -- Â Shepherd, Kendra Preski and Leigha O'Connor -- all put up splits DU's second squad couldn't match.
Â
"It feels pretty good," Woodard said. "What we talked about in our post-meet meeting was wins tend to smooth things over, but they don't make them disappear, our little issues. But I think they tend to put us in the mood where we're more open and vulnerable with each other and more appreciative of each other. My hope is to have another undefeated season, and everybody leaves with a  smile on their face.
Â
"People that don't always see each other in training, they're on deck together and high-fiving and encouraging each other. They're willing to lay it down for each other."
Â
Friday, there was no other option.
Â
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To keep its unbeaten dual streak going, Colorado State women's swimming and diving had to have a win in Friday's final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. To avoid a tie, the Rams needed both quads to score points. Getting separating splits from Anika Johnson and Alexis Trietley to win the race, and then more of the same on the 'B' squad, the Rams overcame a five-point deficit to post the tightest finish in their current run with a 152-148 victory at Denver.
Â
"That's when I know my team is in it, when they keep asking me what the score is," CSU head coach Christopher Woodard said. "They knew what they had to do pretty much throughout the meet. The gutted out some great wins, and there were some great fourth- and fifth-place finishes as well to keep us within range. The relays, they were ready to go. They were super pumped, and when the B relay touched third, that's when everybody erupted. We needed that or otherwise it would be a tie."
Â
It was the 17th consecutive dual win for the program, which began last year with a perfect 14-0 mark. The score with the Pioneers matched the result with Wyoming last season, but the Rams led going into the final race on that date.
Â
Lucy Matheson helped pace the effort out front, winning all three of her individual races, both the 100 and 200 backstrokes, as well as the 100 butterfly. None of her events were particularly close, but it was her approach which struck Woodard.
Â
"Lucy tends to get a little anxious and likes to talk and go over race strategy. I think this is one of the few times where she didn't approach me at all," he said. "She felt like she was really in control of what she needed to do. What impressed me the most was, yeah, she got out, but she took control of the back half of the race. She was doggedly determined no one was going to touch her."
Â
Overall, Colorado State won nine of the 16 events, with Trietley a double winner in the 50 and 100 freestyles in times which were very close to those she posted at the season-opening Chick-fil-A Invitational.
Â
She closed her day with the best split in the final relay, a 50.03.
Â
"She's a hammer and every problem in front of her is a nail, and lucky for us, she's a ball peen hammer; she has some weight behind her," Woodard said. "She just crushes it. She sees open water and takes off. If she sees somebody in front of her, she's like, no, that's not going to happen. Her fight continues to impress me. Her adaptation to the workload continues to impress me.
Â
"But it really was a joint effort. All the freestylers up and down the line, our 200 strokers, were fantastic. This is the definition of a total team effort."
Â
Johnson, whose 51.71 split in the 400 relay was the second-best of the event, won the 200 free, with Maya White taking top honors in the 1,000 free. In the 50 free, there was the odd three-way tie for third, with Sarah Mundy and Azalea Shepherd part of the equation.
Â
The final win came from Amanda Hoffman, whose 2:02.74 in the 200 butterfly was her best in-season time and very much in the neighborhood of her best, which sits fourth in program history. Making her day better, she produced a third-place showing in the 100 version of the event.
Â
"I would wager to say it's in the top six of the conference at this time," Woodard said of Hoffman's 200. "She knows how to race that, but what's even more impressive is sometimes she can struggle in the 100, but it was her ability to come back and light that one up too."
Â
The team's depth made a difference in the final result. The divers took part in a dual for the first time, with Jessica Albanna placing second on the 3-meter board, while Braeden Shaffer and Jozie Meitz, both of whom have been struggling with injuries, added points in the two diving events.
Â
Erin Dawson had a pair of runner-up showings (500 free and 200 individual medley), Johnson was right behind Trietley in the 100 free and Katie McClelland was second in the 200 breast and third in the 100 breast. The meet opened with Matheson, McClelland, Johnson and Trietley placing second in the 200 medley relay. Getting depth points was key, and the Rams did their part.
Â
But in the end, they needed both relay teams to score, making the deck tense with the final start. As the top team, which included Megan Hager and Mundy, did it's part, senior Liza Lunina put up a strong lead-off leg for her squad, and the three who followed her -- Â Shepherd, Kendra Preski and Leigha O'Connor -- all put up splits DU's second squad couldn't match.
Â
"It feels pretty good," Woodard said. "What we talked about in our post-meet meeting was wins tend to smooth things over, but they don't make them disappear, our little issues. But I think they tend to put us in the mood where we're more open and vulnerable with each other and more appreciative of each other. My hope is to have another undefeated season, and everybody leaves with a  smile on their face.
Â
"People that don't always see each other in training, they're on deck together and high-fiving and encouraging each other. They're willing to lay it down for each other."
Â
Friday, there was no other option.
Â
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